The Rising Autumn
by CaptainFusou
Summary: The conflict between an ancient empire and a modern military from another Earth was foreseen by many to be a strange affair. However, unknown to even both sides, the people of Falmart will find themselves joined by an unfamiliar third party, who come from a place that was least expected: Beyond the stars. The Autumn has risen, and the UNSC will leave its mark on the exotic world.
1. Arrival

**About a few months ago, I've watched this new anime and some of the manga. My reaction: "HOLY CRAP! This is amazing work!" Then, a lightbulb appeared. "Hey, why don't I make a crossover between this and my favorite video game series, Halo." This is the result.**

 **AN: I don't own any Halo or Gate - Jietal Kare no chi nite, Kaku Tatakeri content. They belong to their respective owners.**

* * *

 **The Rising Autumn**

 **Prologue:** **Arrival**

 **Location: Unknown**

 **Date: [September 19, 2552] [01:00 UNSC Standard Time]**

* * *

In the middle of deep space, a lone _Halcyon_ -class cruiser drifted in an unbothered journey through the void.

Its massive fusion drives, modified for a different purpose, pushed the vessel at a leisurely pace. Although placid in motion, the UNSC _Pillar of Autumn_ was by no means defenseless. Secondary weapons systems covered every section of the ship, idle but ready to fill anything up close with hot 50 mm lead and Archer missiles. The MAC gun, fitted with enhanced boosters and improved rounds, was prepared to pound any capital ship into fields of scrap. Energy shields, repurposed from Covenant technology, complemented the already resilient honeycomb infrastructure of the UNSC vessel.

The cautious warship wasn't going to be shot down anytime soon.

A lone man stood in the bridge, watching the crew around him carry out their respective duties. The man, Captain Jacob Keyes, watched them all with a pleased expression. Turning around, Keyes thoughtlessly looked out into the darkness of space. His hand tapped on his grandfather's pipe, occasionally chewing on the tip for concentration. His gaze and body language held a calm and confident presence, giving the crew a much needed moral boost. Well, not that he would blame them. The fall of Reach was something that would even take away his own spirit. From the corner of his eyes, he could see the _Autumn_ 's Longsword fighters fly past the viewport, giving his ship a small form of escort.

Despite their protection, it didn't ease his nerves in the slightest.

"Cortana, all I need to know is did we lose them?" Keyes spoke up.

A hologram of a woman appeared on a holotank next to him. The A.I's blue color and the geometric patterns that scrolled all over her body gave her a unique and exotic appearance.

"I believe we both know the answer to that, Captain." Cortana crossed her arms, a witty expression on her face.

Keyes sighed, rubbing his tired eyes.

"Now is not the time for jokes, Cortana. I need to know if the Covenant are able to track us from Reach," He barked sternly.

Cortana pouted, her mouth curling into a frown.

"If they've managed to track us through slip-space, we would have been swarmed with plasma fire long ago," She noted thoughtfully.

Keyes couldn't help but clench the pipe in his hand tightly. Plasma, graceful as it was, shouldn't be what a person had to physically experience firsthand.

"Their ships have always been faster, but the fact that they haven't arrived yet is very surprising." Cortana had a contemplative look, while lightly scratching her chin.

Keyes nodded, his eyes narrowing in thought.

As much as he hated to admit it, there was no secret that Covenant vessels were far greater to that of the UNSC. Their superior weaponry, maneuverability, and the constant usage of energy shielding easily outmatched any human ships in space combat, even when outnumbered by a three-to-one odd. This lead to many defeats for the UNSC navy and eventual glassing of UEG colonies, including the one the _Autumn_ was recently forced to abandon, despite its augmented capabilities. The fact that there wasn't a stampede of Covenant ships following them out of slip-space was a fortunate stroke of luck.

"So, we've made a blind jump, in the middle of nowhere with the Covenant possibly following our trail," The Captain said. His fingers drummed around the wooden pipe in his hand nervously.

"And, by sheer coincidence or not, we've managed to stumble upon an uncharted world." He gestured towards the planet that sat unmoving in front of the cruiser.

Keyes's worries weren't entirely unfounded. When the _Pillar_ _of_ _Autumn_ transitioned to normal space a few hours ago, the crew hadn't expected a planet to greet them face to face. It was a vibrant, beautiful world, to say the least. From what the _Autumn_ 's Clarion spy drones were able to gather, it was a planet very similar to Earth. Atmosphere, oceans, continents, the wildlife, it was practically a garden world left uncontested. Surprisingly, it even had civilizations, albeit in very primitive stages. The circumstance reminded Keyes of the countless planets Humanity had found before they were colonized.

Though, the breathtaking sight was definitely one for sore eyes.

Cortana smirked. "Well, that's one of putting it, but at least we have a moment to breathe the air and stretch our limbs." She demonstrated by reaching out to the ceiling with her hands.

The Captain had an amused glint in his eyes, relaxing his shoulders slightly. "Agreed."

He brought the cigar pipe to his mouth, lighting it before inhaling. A brief breeze of smoke exited from his mouth and disappeared into the stale atmosphere of the bridge. The officer felt the tobacco calm his anxiety and bent his head to the side. Keyes repeated the process on the opposite direction, producing loud cracks from the cranial bones inside his neck. Eliciting a sigh of relief, he felt way better than he did a few moments prior.

"So where do we stand?" Keyes asked, feeling slightly refreshed.

Cortana shrugged in response, "Our fighters are mopping up the last of their recon now. They've detected no contacts, so we're in the clear for now."

The Captain nodded at the good news, "That means we have time to-"

Before Keyes could continue, Cortana cut him off, all form of humor that radiated off of her disappearing. Keyes tensed, gripping on the pipe tightly. Had the Covenant finally caught up to them?

"Captain, I've intercepted a radio signal down on the planet's surface," She reported.

That had definitely taken Keyes completely by surprise. With the exception of the few civilizations and the lack of electric-based technology, it was assumed that the planet was left uninhabited. Apparently, someone got there before they did and Keyes wanted to find out who it was.

"Are you able to identify the source?" He asked. The officer only received a defeated sigh.

"Unfortunately no, the signal is very old for me to decipher clearly," Cortana shook her head, "I'm counting centuries wise, possibly equivalent to Cold War level."

The A.I frowned, confused as much as the Captain listening attentively. "Whoever's down there is using outdated technology, _very_ outdated technology."

With that in mind, Keyes pondered silently, repeatedly tapping on his pipe.

No UNSC forces could be out this far into unknown territory. If there were any, the _Autumn_ 's sensors would have immediately alerted him. He was sure it wouldn't be Covenant either, but it was possible that they have entered a First Contact scenario. Maybe, it could be a cut-off element of humanity that had been separated from the rest of the UNSC. Either way, it wouldn't hurt to be certain though.

"If that's the case, we have an unknown entity that can present a threat to this ship and its crew," Keyes commented, walking to one of the bridge's stations. He inspected the crew-member's work before nodding in satisfaction, calmly walking back to the central holotank.

"Get me Colonel Holland, and bring the ship to combat alert Alpha," He ordered. "I want everyone at their stations." Alarms went off immediately, causing the Bridge's personnel to scramble back and forth to get to their respective posts.

Cortana smiled, "Everyone, Sir?"

The Captain nodded in response, "Everyone."

She set out to work, but Keyes turned around, suddenly interrupting her.

"And Cortana..." The A.I stopped, looking at the officer with a questioning gaze, "Hmmm?"

For the first time since he had been given the privilege to command the _Autumn_ , Captain Keyes let out a genuine smile.

"Let's give our old friend a warm welcome." It was time for a certain soldier to come into play.

Cortana's smile was even wider than his own. "I've already begun."

* * *

Rory Mercury let out a giggle, the bandit within her halberd's grasp whimpering in fear and terror.

Then, with a simple flick of her wrist, the man's head fell from his shoulders, his body following shortly after. It was like cutting wheat in a bountiful harvest. With a sigh, the Apostle flicked her oversized tool repeatedly, cleaning off the blood that had stained her sacred weapon. All around her, numerous bodies of different men lay on the ground, mutilated beyond recognition while some were decapitated like her last victim.

These vermin, who the demigoddess had stumbled upon by accident, have plotted to ambush a convoy of refugees from a nearby village. That was something that she could not allow. So, she slaughtered them all, without any pang of guilt or remorse. Their cries of mercy fell upon deaf ears, and she thrived on the feeling of the bandits' fallen souls flowing through her petite body.

It was completely aphrodisiac.

Rory heard faint panting, and she turned to see a lone bandit running away in fear and panic. She grinned, walking after the survivor in a casual pace.

"What is an Apostle of Emroy," The bandit panted, "doing here!"

He cried out in surprise when he fell into a ditch, staining himself with mud and feces.

The bandit nearly gritted his teeth to dust, "Shit! What the fuck do I—"

"Well, you enjoyed all the fun." A cheerful voice interrupted him, and the frightened man turned around to see Rory stalking towards him.

The Apostle leisurely took her time, as if she was a predator toying with its prey. The cold, unforgiving eyes greatly contrasted with her young, delicate appearance, and the bandit shivered when those same eyes bore into him with a malevolent gaze. They studied him, watching for even the slightest of his movements.

"Killing and raping, with the other men, right?" The Apostle bore her halberd into the dirt, cracking the ground with the weapon's pointed end. The bandit screeched, crawling away from Rory in sheer terror.

"I-I didn't...yet..." He stuttered, his fatigued arms barely moved him an inch, "I'm new...to this..."

Rory stopped, her eyes narrowing in brief contemplation. "Hmm..."

The bandit dragged himself a few good inches when a hand suddenly grabbed him by the collar, hoisting him up without trouble. He yelped in surprise, and Rory let out playful grin. She effortlessly tossed him in the air, causing the bandit to scream by the sudden flight. It was only for a few moments until gravity eventually took hold, and the man quickly fell back down to the ground. He grunted when his body met the dirt, and he heard a crack of a rib breaking from the force of the fall. Painfully bringing his head up, he was met with a sight that brought chilling dread to his heart.

Spread out before him were the bruised, naked bodies of a teen girl and her mother. The same ones that his late comrades had their way with before they killed the pair in cold blood. He hadn't taken part in the act, but the lifeless eyes of the dead women nonetheless sent unnerving chills up his spine.

"Everyone's done it, why don't you too, before you die?" He turned to see Rory smirking at him humorlessly, "I'll ask them, which one?"

She frowned at the bodies, her eyes softening. "Oh that's not good. They've passed away."

The Apostle bent down, gently closing the eyes of the deceased daughter in a surprising mix of sorrow, kindness, and respect.

"Sorry I couldn't be here sooner." She sent a quick prayer before her head snapped to the stunned bandit.

"But," Her smile returned, but it was full of a happiness that didn't fit quite right with her tone. It was evident that she was simply toying with him, "Why don't you do it anyway?"

The gaping bandit was on his knees at this point, "Spare me! I didn't do this! I swear!"

Fear and desperation took over any rational thought, and the man's sense of dignity disappeared along with his bowel control.

"I only joined the bandits to survive! My family was poor," Tears began to form in his eyes, and he brought his hands together.

"I'll reform! I'll work hard. So please not my life—" He was cut off by a dismissive wave from the indifferent Apostle.

"Disgraceful, you could have been a beggar if you didn't want to kill," Rory glared at the bandit with a disgusted sneer. "or become worth less as a man."

She gestured to the women and a dead man not too far off, "Dig graves for these three."

The bandit balked at the "request", looking at Rory, then the bodies. "Dig? But a shovel—"

A menacing shadow draped over Rory's eyes, and she glared at him in disapproval. "You have hands. Given to you by your mother."

"Use them." A subtle threat in the form of her halberd reminded the bandit that he was in no position to complain. Enough for him to change his mind, he began the process of digging up the graves.

"My hands," He grimaced, bringing his hands up to reveal bloody, calloused skin. "damn!"

"Keep them going." The noise of the Rory's halberd hitting the ground made the man work with more vigor, hell bent on completing the task.

By then, hours had passed and the morning sun began to rise from the mountains. The working bandit sighed as he placed a large stone on the last grave.

"How...How's that?"

He turned around to see the Apostle kneeling in prayer, the sunlight making her almost omnipotent. For a moment, the stunned bandit was mesmerized by the Apostle, forgetting the fact that she had terrorized him mere hours ago. A second later, Rory stood up. She grabbed her weapon, confusing the bandit. His confusion immediately turned into terror when the Apostle's intentions were made clear.

"He—hey!" He backed away in fear, "I did what I was told! I did it!"

The man's words did little to deter the demigoddess' advance. In fact, it seemed to encourage her further. Rory let out a predatory grin as she viciously brought her halberd down to her target.

"Help! Please don't do this!" The screams were cut off by a sickening squelch and the dark color of crimson began to flow everywhere.

Everything became silent. Rory huffed, wiping the offending liquid from her face and body with annoyance.

Done with her task, she sat on a boulder, rocking her legs back and forth. The Apostle of Emroy gazed at her handiwork, drumming four fingers on the handle of her massive halberd. If anyone else were to witness the exchange, they would have seen it as a one-sided massacre. So much blood was shed, but Rory didn't mind. Any feeling of remorse was long since dulled by the countless centuries of killing, whether it would be corrupt soldiers or bandits like the ones she had encountered that have crossed her path. She had even earned a reputation for herself: Rory the Reaper.

She liked the ring to it.

Satisfied, Rory sat up and dusted herself off before looking up at the morning sky. The stars haven't completely disappeared yet, so she was greeted by a beautiful sight of different constellations, one that she enjoyed watching from time to time. From the corner of her eyes, she saw one particular star that quickly caught her attention. It was blinking at her, as if the Goddess of the Celestial Night herself were greeting her from the vast darkness of the sky. She smiled, waving at the star. A feeling of premonition washed over her and the Apostle couldn't help but lick her lips in anticipation.

Things were going to change and Rory the Reaper will be there when it begins to happen.

A childish giggle echoed throughout the silent valley.

* * *

CTN 0452-9's report on the [UNSC _Pillar of Autumn]_

Manufacturer: Reyes-McLees Shipyards

Role: Warship

Class: _Halcyon_ -class light cruiser (*Refitted)

Specifications

Length: 1,171 meters (3,840 ft)

Width: 352 meters (1,150 ft)

Height: 398 meters (1,310 ft)

Engine: Experimental reactor set (One primary, two secondary)

R7 couplings (Discarded)

Slipspace drive: Series V CODEN/SFTE

Hull: Titanium-A battleplate (Two meters thick)

Shielding: Equipped

Armament: Mark ll, Light Coil - 56A2D4/MAC (*Modified) (1)

 _Shiva_ -class nuclear missiles mounting 30 megaton HAVOK warheads (4)

HAVOK tactical nuclear weapons (3)

[*Classified] (1)

M58 Archer missile pods (300 pods x 26 missiles)

50mm M910 Rampart point-defense guns (18)

Mark 33 Spitfire naval coil gun batteries (8)

M66 Sentry auto cannon turrets (6)

Targeting systems: Shipboard A.I

Sensor systems: Radar, Spectroscopes

Countermeasures: Emergency thrusters (Port & starboard)

Complement: GA-TL1 Longsword Interceptors (1 squadron)

D77-TC Pelican Drop-ships (15) (*1 Modified)

D96-TCE Albatrosses (3)

AV-14 Hornets (10+) (*2 in repair)

AV-22 Hawks (6+) (*1 in repair)

UH-144 Falcons (7+)

EV-44 Nightingales (7+)

AC-220 Vulture (2) (*1 in repair)

M808B Scorpion Tanks (20+)

M850 Grizzly Tanks (2)

M9 Wolverines (5+)

SP42 Cobras (3+)

M400 Kodiaks (2) (*1 in repair)

M12 Warthogs (60+)

HRUNTING Mark III [B] Cyclops (10+)

M8823 SOEIV Drop pods (216+)

Class-3 Bumblebee lifeboats (18+)

Clarion Spy drones (4) (*1 in repair)

[*Classified] (1)

Crew: 1,000 Naval Personnel

1,500 Marines, 2 Battalions (79th Infantry Battalion)

400 ODSTs (1 Battalion)

600 Army Troopers (*Transferred from UNSC colony Reach)

2 SPARTAN IIs (1 MIA)

200 Engineers

300 Civilians (*Transferred from UNSC colony Reach)

150 Medical personnel

Commanders: Captain Jacob Keyes, Colonel Urban Holland

Launch: December 1, 2510 (Refitted in 2550)

Last sighted: September XX, 25XX

End of CTN 0452-9's report on the [UNSC _Pillar of Autumn_ ]

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 **Hope you guys enjoyed the prologue! Review to share your opinions!**


	2. The Great Journey

**AN: Dang, I never thought this story would get this much support in a span of a single week. Thank you all for stopping by to read and leaving compliments, it makes me warm and fuzzy inside.** **To put it bluntly, this chapter only serves to introduce the faction in question into the story. Later on, they will become a key element into the story's** **conflict. How important though, you'll figure it out. No UNSC here for now.**

 **Well, my Hot Pockets are done. Enjoy the chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any Halo or Gate - Jietal Kare no Chi nite, Kaku Tatakeri** **content. They belong to their respective owners.**

* * *

 **The Rising Autumn**

 **Chapter 1: The Great Journey**

 **23rd Age of Doubt**

 **September 12th, 2552**

* * *

To say that Lat 'Ravamee was angry would have been a massive understatement.

No, he was absolutely livid.

The Shipmaster paced back and forth, his armored hooves pounding the nanolaminate plating beneath him. The command center's crew, wary of their superior, gave the fuming Elite a wide berth to vent his anger. A Hunter pair that served as 'Ravamee's bodyguards, however, stood relatively unfazed. They watched him silently, motionless as if they were stone statues.

However, it wasn't the case for some obtuse few.

An ignorant Grunt stood too close, unaware of its comrades' caution. Mere moments later, the diminutive creature squealed in fright, and found itself on the receiving end of the Shipmaster's fury. The Grunt's body flew across the room, and slammed into an adjacent wall with a sickening crunch following shortly after. Around the room, a few spectating Jackals roared in laughter while the Elites could only shake their heads at the Grunt's foolishness. It was not the first time that something like this happened, after all. Another Grunt waddled in, discreetly carrying its dead brethren out of the command center, leaving a trail of blue blood behind.

'Ravamee sent a quick glare to the squawking avians, submitting the lesser species into an uncomfortable silence. Controlling his labored breathing, the Shipmaster remembered the events prior that slowly lead to his provoked anger.

His _CSS_ -class battlecruiser, the _Truth and Reconciliation_ , had been one of the many warships in the Fleet of Particular Justice to cleanse the humans of the planet called "Reach". Why the heretics give their worlds such ridiculous titles was beyond the Elite. Nonetheless, he couldn't help but feel a small measure of contentment for the human's destruction down below. Stubborn as they were, they had put up a tremendous fight, despite their inferior numbers and weaponry. But the Great Journey always came first, and these filth stood in the way of the Covenant's ascension into Godhood.

Like insects, they must be squashed underfoot, and the Shipmaster was more than happy to oblige. His mandibles unconsciously curled into a smile.

With the countless vessels they had in their disposal, the Fleet of Particular Justice swept away the remaining human ships with zealous prejudice. Even those accursed orbital platforms, the backbone of their planet's defenses, were no match for the full might of the Covenant. Their resistance had been nothing but a hopeless futility.

The _Truth_ _and_ _Reconciliation_ had not partaken in the glassing of the human planet, but instead watched the glorious event from the safety of orbit. The plasma that had bombarded the surface, turning the ground into molten ash and glass, was a magnificent sight. From the fire that slowly spread throughout the planet, he and the rest of the crew truly believed that they have defeated the heretics.

Then, a memory of a certain event popped into his mind, and the Shipmaster's mood immediately soured.

Too blinded by the destructive display, they didn't notice a single human ship racing from the planet's surface, intending to escape the burning world. The few _CSS_ battle-cruisers that did detect it attempted to intercept, firing at the evading vessel with waves of plasma torpedoes. It would have been over for the humans on board, had it not been for a golden, translucent barrier that surrounded the ship, deflecting the volley. The Shipmaster could remember his crew's shock, watching the skirmish from the _Truth and Reconciliation_ 's external cameras.

This particular ship had energy shielding, a trait that its other, weaker brethren did not share.

The aforementioned ship retaliated, sending a burst of not one, but _three_ primitive projectiles at the closest Covenant ship, the _Undiminished Entelechy._ From his own wide eyes, he witnessed the first two rounds completely strip the energy shielding, causing the vessel to tilt from the sheer kinetic force of the impact. The final projectile tore through the hull plating with ease, crashing into the cruiser's pinch reactor. It had caused a chain reaction to occur that he had to cover his eyes when the damaged ship detonated into a blinding star of massive proportions. When the explosion cleared, all that was left were floating parts of burnt hull plating.

Immediately after the _Undiminished Entelechy_ 's destruction, he had ordered his ship to close onto the vessel, sensing an easy opening for a kill. From years of experience, the Shipmaster knew that the human's coil-gun weaponry needed to recharge after every shot, much less three consecutive ones in a single volley. As his ship moved closer, 'Ravamee was confident that the vessel would go down in a blaze of glory, energy shield or not. He grinned as the volley of plasma torpedoes fired from his vessel homed on the human ship.

Unfortunately for the Shipmaster, that was not the case.

His careless mistake would cost him when the human ship not only dodged the torpedoes, by an unconventional method of using smaller thrusters to push the vessel out of the plasma's path, but managed to fire back another salvo of three projectiles. Like the first _CSS-_ class cruiser, the _Truth and Reconciliation_ 's shielding was completely shredded by the first two rounds, throwing some personnel off their feet by the force of the shock. However, by some stroke of luck, the third round was slightly off target and only collided with the broadside section of the ship. Those unfortunate enough to be in the impact's vicinity either died by the projectile itself, or by the deadly exposure of cold vacuum. The human ship flew past his damaged vessel with an unimaginable speed, transitioning into slip-space and leaving behind a very confused Covenant fleet.

In the end, what should had been a glorious victory became a humiliating defeat for the bitter Elite.

And now, three weeks later, his ship was nearly repaired, but the Shipmaster was by no means in a pleasant mood. The Elite grew restless, the idea of his honor tainted by the humans that had escaped his grasp was ever present in his mind. The Fleet hadn't bothered to pursue the human ship, instead continued to slowly glass the planet to uncover the Forerunner artifacts below. He was frustrated at the lack of action, but refrained from speaking his thoughts out loud. After all, those who questioned too much never questioned again in the future. He knew better to avoid the same fate.

A Major walked up to the agitated Shipmaster, keeping himself at a reasonable distance. From the corner of his eyes, the red armored Elite glanced at the blue blood stain with a look of disdain.

"Shipmaster, I have news." The Major saluted in reverence.

'Ravamee spun around, his intense gaze meeting his subordinate.

"Well, what do have you to report?" he asked bluntly.

On his part, the Major didn't even bat an eye to the harsh tone. The lack of a reaction slightly impressed the higher ranking Elite.

"We have an incoming transmission from the _Seeker of Truth_ ," The red armored warrior reported respectfully.

Suddenly, 'Ravamee's mandibles widened in shock, the anger he felt extinguished immediately. The indigo blood that flowed within his veins began to freeze with apprehension. The _Seeker of Truth_ was a _CAS_ -class assault carrier, the flagship of the Fleet of Particular Justice. However, it wasn't the formidable ship itself that unnerved the Shipmaster.

It was the one who commanded it: Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee.

Any transmission from the most competent military leader in the Covenant armada was not good news, and this one was definitely no exception. The personnel that had secretly listened to the exchange, mostly Elites, began to commune with each other nervously. The Shipmaster unconsciously found himself wishing that the human ship had finished his ship off.

"Why was I not informed earlier?" The Shipmaster growled angrily.

In response, the Major silently pointed to the blood stain on the ground. 'Ravamee peered at the blue fluid with a sheepish stare, forcing himself to calm down. The Shipmaster's anger showed no bounds, whether he was aware of it or not.

"Put him through," The Elite ordered impassively.

His red-armored subordinate nodded, turning to bark at the officer in the Communication station down below the bottom level.

A moment later, a life-sized hologram of an Elite appeared from a nearby projector. The Elite stood proud and tall, his mere presence demanding absolute respect and authority. The gold armor that he wore seemed to glisten, even though the transmission, and the purple-colored cape that was fastened around his neck enhanced the Elite's imposing appearance. Respectively attached to each side of his legs was a standard-issue plasma pistol and a ceremonial-styled handle of an energy sword that very few individuals could wish to attain. Overall, the fact that this Elite wished to speak to him personally placed the Shipmaster and his crew in a rather uneasy position.

"Supreme Commander, I am honored to be in your presence." 'Ravamee bowed, with the Major following his example.

The hologram, Thel 'Vadamee, waved his hand dismissively.

" _There is no need for formalities, my brother,_ " 'Vadamee's tone was surprisingly gentle and welcoming, "b _ut, I assume you already know the nature of this call?_ "

The Shipmaster sighed, knowing where this was going, "This is about the human ship that escaped us?"

The Supreme Commander nodded at him.

" _Correct,_ " His tone became more serious, something that did not avoid 'Ravamee's attention. " _t_ _he 'Pillar of Autumn', they call it."_

The Shipmaster wanted to roll his eyes at the human's persistent use of strange titles.

 _"It has come to my suspicion that this vessel's departure was of no coincidence,_ " 'Vadamee admitted.

The Supreme Commander's hologram disappeared, replaced by an image of a collapsed mountain, " _We had excavated this mountain a few days ago, and within it, a hidden human_ _facility that housed sacred Forerunner archives._ "

The Shipmaster could sense the subtle contempt behind the words.

" _We had tried to retrieve any salvageable data left, but our attempts were in vain,_ " 'Vadamee scowled, " _Either it had perished with the mountain or the humans had taken it_ _with them."  
_

The hologram reverted back to the golden-armored Elite, showing his thoughtful expression. " _I believe it to be the latter. The lack of data and the human ship are connected somehow._ "

'Ravamee looked at his superior, confusion evident on his face. "If that is the case, why is this relevant to our situation?"

The Supreme Commander examined him with an analytical stare. " _Tell me, do you know of the Sacred Rings?_ "

The Shipmaster raised an eyebrow, holding back an amused snort at the sheer incredulousness of the question. Does he believe him for a fool? Of course he knew. They were the sole reason for the Covenant's entire existence! If 'Vadamee was any other person, he would have called him a heretic for such a ridiculous question.

"They are the Holy relics that the Gods used to elevate into transcendence." 'Ravamee replied matter-of-factly.

Thel nodded, " _Halo._ "

He turned around, talking to someone off-screen. Then, the Elite looked back, a fierce look in his eyes.

" _The human ship, their construct to be exact,_ _holds the location of the Sacred Rings, and it is imperative that we locate it immediately._ "

'Ravamee looked down with comprehension and guilt, realizing that he was responsible for such a great loss. Now, the Elite was sure that he was going to lose more than just his honor. Suddenly, a blinking dot appeared on a holographic chart, moving somewhere off-system.

" _I had the opportunity to have one of my vessels plant a spy probe before the human vessel jumped into Slip-space, but I had never predicted the significance of the situation._ "

'Vadamee looked at the Shipmaster, his mandibles forming a smile, " _That is why I'm leaving the task of hunting these humans to you, Shipmaster._ "

Surprised at the revelation, 'Ravamee blinked at his superior. "Me? Surely you jest. After all, my inability to stop the heretics makes me unsuitable for such an assignment."

The Supreme Commander merely sent a reassuring wave, " _I am aware of your tactical error and you are right to claim blame."_

He sighed, " _But I know it would be a pointless endeavor to accuse you of failure-_ " The Elite sent a surprisingly forgiving smile, " _-when there is always a chance for redemption._ "

The Shipmaster blankly stared, waves of shock and relief flowing through him. He hadn't expected that whatsoever, and by the stunned looks of the crew, neither did they.

'Ravamee quickly recovered, "My thanks, Supreme Commander."

He saluted enthusiastically, "I shall carry out my task with honor and dignity; The Sacred Ring will be found."

The Elite suddenly realized that he had been given a second chance.

'Vadamee acknowledged him with a nod, " _Stay strong, for the journey ahead will be a perilous and difficult one._ " The transmission ended, leaving 'Ravamee and the majority of the listening crew in stunned silence.

The Major stood beside him, slightly more comfortable in his presence, "What are your orders, Shipmaster?"

The Shipmaster faced towards the red armored Elite, a grin forming on his face, "Inform the Huragok to hasten their effort on repairs, we must not waste anymore time."

He walked to the edge of the command center's upper platform, facing the expectant crew on the bottom level, "The Great Journey is upon us, my brothers!"

The Elite grabbed his Energy Sword, igniting the superheated blades of plasma with a single swipe, "Soon, the Sacred Ring will be in our possession and the humans will perish, like the filthy heretics they are!"

He raised his weapon into the air, causing the crew to cheer in zealous excitement and eagerness. They will prove themselves worthy to the Gods, and no one, not even human's dreaded Demons, would stop them. 'Ravamee couldn't help but let out an aggressive grin.

Soon, they will become gods themselves.

* * *

Lelei La Lalena sighed, her short blue hair wavering in the gentle breeze of the cool air. The fifteen year old teen was by normal means a calm and stoic girl, but the spectacle in front of her slowly began to test her patience. Her master, the elder sage Cato, rolled on the floor, whining like a toddler without a toy. If she was any other person, the teen would had probably giggled at the ludicrous sight.

"Master, we can't carry anymore." She tried her best to calm him down.

To her hidden dismay, the old man didn't seemed deterred in the slightest.

"No! I need my books!" The old sage whined loudly.

After a few seconds, he stopped, looking at his disciple. "Lelei, isn't there anything we can do?"

The blue-haired teen blinked at her teacher with an emotionless gaze, "Certainly. I believe we should prioritize the most valuable books," She advised thoughtfully.

Cato grinned at the suggestion, standing up while brushing himself off, "That's right. You sure are smart, Lelei."

The elder sage proceeded to pick up the books that he had dropped on accident, "But why now? Damn that fire dragon!"

He grumbled bitterly, "Showing up fifty years early..."

The rest of his mumbling went unnoticed by his student, who stopped to look up at the clearness of the sky.

Lelei, who normally wasn't one to space out, found herself looking at the stars that haven't been washed away by the blue waves of the heavens. Something unfamiliar began to develop inside her, and she unconsciously tightened her hands on the grip of her wooden staff. The feeling of premonition was stronger than she had ever felt it before. Her blue eyes narrowed. Something was going to happen, and the teenage girl felt like she was going to be a part of it somehow. Taking one last look at the sky, she began working on securing the reins attached to their carriage's stead.

"Look at all the trouble it's causing us." The elder sage moaned, snapping Lelei out of her thoughts.

The old man began to doze off, probably normal for someone his age, and his student allowed herself a bit of amusement at the sight.

"I wish you would sleep already, too," She teased tonelessly.

Cato looked at the teen, seemingly insulted. "Huh? What do you mean by that?"

He crossed his arms in indignation, "I'm not interested in mounting little girls like you!"

The sage giggled perversely, a scarlet blush forming on his face.

"I'd rather mount a sexy, _curvy_ woman like your sister, Arpeggio."

Drool began to form on his lips, while the old man attempted to imitate the said 'curvy' figure of Lelei's older stepsister. The blue-haired teen blankly stared at her teacher, an unimpressed look on her face. Silently, she conjured up a wind spell, pointing her hand at the perverted old man.

Mere seconds later, the elder sage found himself on the receiving end of vicious wind magic, screeching in terror as he soared into the air and past the trees.

The horse attached to the carriage watched the flying man with slight interest, not noticing the small grin that formed on the teen's face.

* * *

 **Yay, Chapter 1 is complete! Review to share your thoughts! Hoped you enjoyed.**


	3. The Sleeping Giant

**AN: Christ almighty, finally got this chapter out. I want to thank you all for reading the story. I'm sorry the chapter didn't come out sooner. Personally, I didn't think this would get so much support. Enough said, let's get on with it.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any Halo or Gate - Jietal Kare no Chi nite, Kaku Tatakeri content. They belong to their respective owners.**

* * *

 **The Rising Autumn**

 **Chapter 2: The Sleeping Giant**

 **Location: Unknown**

 **Date: [September 19, 2552] [01:03 UNSC Standard Time]**

* * *

Tech Officer Sam Marcus couldn't help but swear up a storm when a beep from the intercom interrupted his slumber. Rubbing his cold, tired eyes, he glanced at his room's mission clock, bolted to the wall on the side of his bed.

01:03, it read. He sighed exhaustingly.

From the last weeks of metaphorical chaos on the _Autumn,_ the technician had been able to rest a full three hours — an improvement from the many power naps he was able to scrap up from his extended shifts. Nearly a quarter of the tech staff was running around the clock, working in full skeleton crews. The rest had died during the escape from Reach. Even so, the lack of sufficient sleep was starting to affect his mind and body.

Nearly every non-essential personnel had been put in cryo-sleep — standard UNSC procedure in an event that a ship goes through slip-space. Even he had a full seventy-two hours of cryogenic slumber. However, the sheer amount of fatigue that threatened to overwhelm his body made him consider the possibility of requesting more cryo-sleep. The appeal of refreshing sleep made it well worth a few blisters of freezer burns.

Swinging his legs off the bed, he turned his head around to relieve his stiff neck. The intercom beeped again, and Sam immediately poked at the comm's control with the grace of a drunken man.

"Marcus here," He groaned.

The voice of Chief Petty Officer Thom Shepard answered him back, "Sorry to wake you, Sam, but I need your help in Cryo Two."

Unsurprisingly, the man sounded just as exhausted as he was, "It's important."

Sam stiffened, his fatigue disappearing for a brief moment, "Cryo Two? Why?"

His suspicions didn't go without reason. The Chief Petty Officer sounded as if he wanted to cover up an ill-prepared murder. In this case, the Tech Officer wasn't willing to bet his money on it.

"Can't give you any specifics, Sam, but Captain Keyes wants it kept off the chatter," Tom replied, his voice border-lining to a hushed whisper, "in case we have anyone listening in."

Sam raised a puzzled eyebrow at the secretive tone. What could be so important that it would possibly warrant any eavesdroppers?

"Look Sam," Thom sighed, "I need someone that can help me. You've cross-checked on cryo-systems before, right?"

The bewildered technician frowned, "Months ago, but yeah."

"Good, I'm sending a feed to your terminal," The Chief Petty Officer continued, "Dump the data into your pad, grab your gear, and haul your ass over here, ASAP."

Sam snorted silently, "Acknowledged."

Standing up, he briefly smoothed his uniform, walking over to the room's terminal. The technician powered up the computer, waiting a few seconds for Shepard's feed to come through. A chime alerted him of the upload, and he looked to see the packet sitting idly in his terminal's message queue.

Accessing the file, a small frown began to develop on his exhausted face. His overworked eyes scanned the new message that appeared on the screen.

FILE ENCRYPTED/EYES ONLY/MARCUS, SAMUEL N.

/SN:18827318209-M.

DECRYPTION KEY:[PERSONALIZED: "ELLEN'S ANNIVERSARY"]

The Tech Officer sighed, rubbing his wrinkled forehead.

Sam hadn't been able to see his wife for nearly three years — the last time was at his brief shore leave on Earth. The war with the Covenant had driven a hard wedge between them, but he had hoped to see her again, sooner or later. Sam knew he wasn't the only one on the ship facing the same problem.

The man grimaced. Morale was already at an all-time low, and thinking about home generally made it worse.

Pushing those thoughts aside, the technician typed in a series of number, which had formed the date of his wedding. Within seconds, Sam was enabled into the decryption suite. He watched schematics and technical readouts scroll through the screen, his eyes scanning through the data with practiced precision.

Suddenly, a sudden dash of adrenaline shot throughout his body like a round from a MAC gun. His mouth hanged open, the fatigue that had plagued his senses vanishing within an instant.

"No fucking way," The technician double-checked, making sure there weren't any errors in the coding, "This isn't what I _think_ it is."

He shook his head in disbelief, "Jesus Christ, Thom. What have you got myself into?"

Following Shepard's instructions, Sam proceeded to download the files from the terminal. He immediately deleted the original version, once the data was fully dumped into his TACPAD. After checking to see everything in perfect order, the technician grabbed the TACPAD and began to head out through the door. Four steps forward, he stopped suddenly, glancing a picture of his wife by the room's terminal. The Tech Officer decided to bring it, cramming the photograph into his pocket. Whether it was from unconscious thought or for sentimental value, he didn't really know. Leaving the cabin, he began to rush for the lift, passing by other crew members and a few patrolling Marines. He didn't even notice his boot nearly smashing the tail of a frightened calico cat.

Something was going to happen, and Sam felt a tinge of worry as he made it into the lift.

The doors behind him closed with a barely audible click.

* * *

Cryo Bay Two, in comparison to the rest of the _Autumn_ , was far more tranquil than the controlled chaos going on throughout the ship. It had been quiet even before the ship transitioned from Slipspace to a supposedly unknown planet.

However, the calmness and the lack of any exciting activity made it a rather boring assignment for Shepard, who repeatedly sighed with indifference. The slightly obese man looked at his monitor with some amount of attention, tapping his fingers on the cold metal of the table. The sound of the room's door opening filled his ears. However, he didn't need to turn around to know who it was.

"Sam," He greeted.

Sam nodded in response, "Thom."

From the corner of his eyes, Shepard could see his subordinate taking a seat next to him. The sounds of stretching and groaning reached him, but the Chief Petty Officer distantly tuned them out. He had a task to complete, after all. For a moment, Tom surveyed the interior of the Cryo-Bay's observation theater. Every cryo storage bay had at least one such room, to keep constant watch on the many cryotubes the storage bays held within.

Cryo Bay Two had enough space to hold a Warthog, but the sheer plethora of terminals, monitors, and diagnostic gauges — all designed to observe inactive personnel in the tubes below — made the room look rather packed and messy. It was an uncomfortable experience, Shepard had to admit, but it was a small price he was willingly to pay.

"I'll go meet our guest; Stay here and continue to monitor him from here." Thom ordered.

From his station, Sam didn't bother to turn around, but he nodded nonetheless. "Copy, Sir."

Satisfied, The Chief Petty Officer walked out of the theater, moving to the bottom level of the storage bay. When the doors closed, Sam sighed tiredly. His eyes began to waver, the prospect of sleeping on the job began to cloud his mind. The brief salvation of adrenaline that he'd experienced earlier had left him in the dust. Now, the Tech officer seemed to be an empty, drained shell of his former self. Sam felt tired, worn out, and anxious, all together in one go.

A mental image of a hot, steamy mug of sweet caffeinated coffee crossed his mind, and the technician couldn't help but shiver with delight. The cup seemed to reach out to him, calling out with a silky, honey voice of a siren. Sam's consciousness screamed at him to abandon his post and taste the beautiful, liquid ambrosia that was just only a few decks away from him. For a moment, the technician considered doing just that.

He shook his head to clear his head, watching the monitors that oversaw the storage bay's single patient. Double-checking the main instrument panel, he pressed on the room's intercom.

"He's coming around, sir," The technician called out.

Looking from the observation facility, Sam could see Shepard wave at him from the lower level.

"Nice job, Sam," Thom yelled back, "it's almost time to pop the seal."

Around Sam, the monitors kept a constant delivery of information from the active cryotube to the observation bay. Waves of data scrolled across the screens, giving the technician a good reading on the status of their sole patient. The subject's vitals were level, to Sam's satisfaction, and the body temperature was rising at a normal rate.

The technician would not admit it out loud, but he was really excited. Never in a million years would he had thought of seeing an actual Spartan, much less having the opportunity to awaken one. It was awe-inspiring and nerve-wracking at the same time. Granted, most of the chemicals in the Spartan's body were already flushed away, so it made his task a whole league easier than it looked.

"Scans show that he's in the REM phase, Chief," He reported, "and his brainwave activity shows that he's dreaming — shouldn't be long before he thaws out."

"Great," Thom gave Sam a thumbs up, "keep a close eye on his neuron levels. There may be some feedback effects to check out — the guy's been cryo-sleeping in that armor for quite some time."

Sam couldn't help but feel a brief moment of nervousness. Flash-thawing was a dangerous procedure, and the prospect of the Spartan becoming injured because of a mistake didn't bode well with the technician. After all, the likelihood of an incident happening other than a full recovery wasn't exactly to far off. Sam gulped down a wad of salvia that had been building up in his mouth.

"Acknowledged," He responded.

On the facility's terminal, a red light blinked into existence, catching his attention. The Tech Officer watched silently as a new series of codes and data appear on the screen.

"What the hell?" He looked at the message on the screen, his mouth curling into a frown with confusion.

{WAKE-UP SERIES STANDBY. SECURITY LOCK}

{X - CORTANA 1 0 CRYOSTOR. 23.4.7}

{[PRIORITY ALPHA] ENGAGED}

He jabbed at the room's intercom, "Hey, Thom? There's something here — some sort of...security lockout, coming from the bridge."

"Copy, Sam," There was a brief click of static as Shepard manually connected the bay's intercom to the bridge's channel. "Cryo Two to Bridge."

"Go ahead, Cryo Two," A synthesized voice replied to Shepard.

It had a tone of a female, mixed with telltale signs of distinct human and artificial origin.

"We're ready to pop the seal on our guest, Cortana," Thom began to explain, "We need—"

"—the security code," Cortana finished bluntly, "transmitting it to you now. Don't keep the Captain waiting, boys. Bridge out."

As soon as the A.I cut the transmission, a new line of text scrolled across Sam's terminal.

{UNSEAL THE HUSHED CASKET}

Without hesitation, Sam pressed the Execute command, causing the security lockout to immediately disappear. Next to him, a timer began to countdown the time until the flash thawing would be finished. The technician began to become giddy with excitement.

He watched the electrochemicals in the Spartan's nervous system slowly become active again, as well as respiration and heart rate both return to stable levels. The soldier was starting to come back to the land of the living.

 _Here I am,_ Sam though with a small grin, _an honest-to-God Spartan coming to life before my very eyes._ It was not just a single Spartan, but probably the _last_ Spartan to be authentically alive to this day. Many of the formidable super-soldiers had vanished over the long decades of the war — most of them had disappeared on the fallen planet of Reach.

Sam had heard of the SPARTAN-II program, and the technician knew he wasn't the only one. Back in the 2490's, the still existing CMA had discreetly authorized the launch of the ORION program — in response to the possibilities of civil unrest within the colonies. Soldiers with desirable physical traits and attributes were taken and evaluated. They endured a good amount of gruesome training and stressful augmentation. When the program was completed, only a handful of the candidates survived.

Nonetheless, it was a successful — and two decades later, another group of candidates would become the Spartan II's. From what little snippets Sam had heard, the project was supposed to been a hush-hush detail, but the arrival of the Covenant in 2525 had turned that around.

When first contact that had been made with the aliens on Harvest, the destruction of the agricultural planet was met with vehement outrage. The people wanted blood, in reaction to the aliens' hostile action against Humanity. Due to constant support from the public, the UNSC's military power and industrial demand had been increased with haste. Weapons were built, ships were constructed, and UEG colonies began to become fortified in response to the Covenant's aggressions. It was a false blanket of security that the government thought would keep everyone safe.

However, that wasn't enough. Years into the war, the odds were beginning to turn against Humanity's favor. Fleets of ships were destroyed in droves, planets began to become picked off one by one, and the lives of both military personnel and civilians extinguished in the numbers of billions. The Covenant were simply too powerful.

Not only did the situation degenerate on the front-lines, but society within the UNSC's borders threatened to collapse in the wake of the increasingly grim reality. People were afraid, and they wanted assurance. In response, intelligence officials gave them what they wanted, by revealing the existence of the SPARTAN-II program. In a certain aspect, it was a double-edged sword. The Spartans were a perfect morale boost for the public and those in the military, and many people began to look up to them as heroes. One of those super-soldiers was enough to turn the tide of the battle, performing feats that were simply astonishing and giving grounded troops hopes of victory. Even the Covenant appeared to be fearful of them.

However, there were only so many, and all but one were gone forever. Now, with Humanity's buffer zone lost to the aliens, the possibility of total annihilation was too close for comfort.

After a few brief seconds of pregnant silence, Sam looked at the Spartan from the observation window. His eyes gazed at the green armor with admiration. In a way, the technician felt humbled. Here was a true hero, rising from his slumber like a kraken in the ocean. A god of war in advanced armor that could easily sweep an entire army from under their feet if he wanted to. It was a moment that Sam surely knew he wouldn't forget.

Still, it didn't ease his nervousness. If all the rumors and stories about the Spartan were true, then the man slowly recovering in the bottom deck of the bay was a game-changer that the _Autumn_ 's crew desperately needed.

Sam silently hoped that he wasn't wrong.

* * *

John didn't know where he was, nor could he hear or say anything.

Sleeping in a strange limbo between cryogenic slumber and reality was nothing new to John. He floated in the never-ending void of darkness, where strange images and the bitter coldness became his constant companion.

The dream was a serene and tranquil one. It was pleasant, almost peaceful, and the clarity began to turn into memories John nearly thought never existed. He found himself on his home-world, Eridanus II, a colony world that held most of his childhood — and long since glassed by the Covenant. John looked around for a sense of direction, his ears picking up something that was unfamiliar to him. He heard it again, and realized what it was — laughter.

A faint, female voice called out, and he felt a pair of slender arms hold onto him. John inhaled, and the familiar scent of soap filled his nostrils. It smelled absolutely wonderful. He heard the woman giggle, and a nice compliment followed shortly after. Smiling, he tried to say something, but found no words coming out.

Frustration began to build up, and John attempted to find the woman that was eluding his vision. All he could see was a hazy fog. Trying once more, he looked harder, and found himself with a dainty but clear image of the woman. She had soft lips, a smooth nose, and the largest blue eyes he had ever seen. For a moment, he couldn't help but wonder why they look exactly like his own.

Fascinated, he reached out with his hand, almost wanting to feel her curly brown hair. His fingers brushed with contact, and the woman's image wavered, like disturbing a watery reflection. John pulled his hand back, and the woman that had mesmerized him began to alter. The chocolate hair that he had sought to touch became darker, her eyes enhanced into a colder, piercing hue, and the fair skin bleached into a color of light pale.

When her image became more recognizable, John immediately wanted to salute. It was Dr. Halsey. Obviously, he knew who she was. Halsey had been the one who selected him for the SPARTAN-II program. Many people would have believed the Spartans had been gleaned only from the best of the UNSC, but no one but the trusted knew the actual secret. She sought him for his superior genetics and physical attributes, as well as the abnormal amount of luck that allowed him to win a simple game of flipping an old coin.

After that, he had been abducted — with seven-four other children — and replaced with a flash-clone. The clones were imperfect duplicates, created with physical and neurological disorders in order to make sure the families never knew of the covert switch. The plan worked flawlessly, and the parents never realized that their real sons and daughters were gone in a single night. In some ways, he viewed Halsey as the motherly figure that he never had.

However, he knew that she wasn't her _real_ mother, and ditto for the sudden the image of Cortana, his AI, that replaced Dr. Halsey. Strangely, her eyes seemed blank, and the smile she wore was void of any joy. Backing away slightly, he grew wary when three figures suddenly emerged from behind Cortana. They were female, he quickly figured out from their body shape, but the haze made it difficult to discern any clear features.

The dream around him changed again. From behind the women, a large, ominous form began to rise from the ground. Its shape and size grew at an exponential rate, until John found himself staring at a creature that was nearly twice the size of a Pelican. The thing was something he had never encountered before, but whatever it was, it was a threat — that he was sure of.

Synthetic and natural adrenaline flowed through his veins, with instincts honed by decades of combat kicking in. His clairvoyant mind began to study the threat and the environment around him.

The massive hostile, like the unknown trio from before, was difficult to distinguish, even to his augmented vision. Although, John was able to see its enormous claws, and the incredibly sharp teeth that was barred in his direction. He had no doubt that either one could do severe damage to him if he wasn't careful enough. The one thing that caught his attention, however, was the pair of wings that the creature had spread out. The appendages were huge, its wingspan roughly the width of a UNSC Longsword.

In conclusion: It was dangerous — and it needed to be neutralized.

John gazed around, observing his environment.

He was in some sort of playground, with tall wooden poles and a quaint little sandbox sitting in the middle of the area. Surveying every possible route to flank the creature, he proceesed every bit of information within a fraction of a second. He spotted a familiar sight, a MA5B Assault Rifle, leaning by the sandbox. A plan began to form in his head. If John acquired the weapon in time, he needed to place himself in between the woman and the hostile. That way, his armor could take the brunt of an assault, and he could retaliate with a barrage of suppressive fire.

He sprinted with haste, trying to outrun the creature's reaction time. A large shadow loomed towards him, followed by an intense and threatening roar.

John grimaced. For its size, the beast was surprisingly nimble, and it was already gaining distance in between them at a disturbing rate.

He made it to the sandbox, sliding while grabbing the assault rifle. Turning around, he tried to aim and fire, but something was stopping him. He realized, to his horror, that he couldn't even lift the weapon. His arms were suddenly small and frail, with his armor gone and replaced with a body of an unaugmented six year old. He was completely defenseless.

In his shock, John did not notice the hostile stop in mid-air. Reeling back, the beast opened its jaw — and a swirling ball of flames began to build up inside its throat.

John clenched his fists, dropping the useless weapon. His heart began to beat faster with each second. He was vulnerable, even in the face of a direct threat. He couldn't protect the innocent, and now, he couldn't even protect himself.

A cold fury overcame his senses, and he roared back at the creature in rage and defiance — not just at the hostile, but also at his own helplessness.

The last thing John saw was the stream of fire heading toward him, and a bright, blinding light that faded the dream instantly.

Then, everything was silent.

* * *

 **That was Chapter 2! Review to share your opinions. Hope you've enjoyed.**


	4. Terra Firma

**AN: I got to say, the events happening within the last few months were...surprising to say the least. I'm interested to see how the US progresses for the next four years. The reception from the last chapter was astounding. Nearly 2 times the amount I've got from the first two. That means I'll have to try harder, right? Putting all that aside, I like to thank everyone who's given even the tinniest amount of time to look at my last chapter, much less the entire story — so here's a cookie!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any Halo or** **Gate - Jietal Kare no Chi nite, Kaku Tatakeri content. They belong to their respective owners.**

* * *

 **The Rising Autumn**

 **Chapter 3: Terra Firma**

 **Location: Unknown**

 **Date: [September 19,2552] [01:30 UNSC Standard Time]**

* * *

When the Spartan began to slowly feel consciousness, he groaned lightly from the sheer dizziness that made his head ill and light.

The brief light that unexpectedly shattered his dream hit him in full force, catching him off-balance. Fortunately, his years of training allowed him to hold back the sudden nausea, and within a few seconds, the revulsion had become a mere afterthought. Steam and vapor around him vented, whirled, and began to disappear. His ears picked up an obscured voice, as if it was coming from a mile away. Hearing it again, he realized it was male, laced with a stoic and matter-of-factly tone.

"Sorry for the quick thaw, Master Chief, but things are a bit hectic right now. The disorientation should pass quickly."

A second voice welcomed him, and it took the Spartan a moment to realize where he was. Stiffly looking around, he found himself in the small space of a UNSC cryotube. Memories of the past began to pour into his head, and he slowly remembered where he had been prior to his cryogenically frozen state. A battle had taken place, a long and difficult one, in which most, if not the entirety, of his Spartan comrades had perished in the heat of combat. Men and women who he considered brothers and sisters, raised and trained with together for years — and, unlike the elusive woman from his dreams, were family to him.

With the amount of memories coming back to him, and the slight changes of the bronchial surfactants in his lungs, came a measure of strength. Not in just a physical sense, but in mental fortitude as well. He knew his purpose, and he will see it through the end.

He flexed his stiff arms, and felt a brief moment of tingling and pain from the slowly recovering nerves. The Spartan heard one of the technicians vaguely mention something about the "freezer burn" effect, but that small snippet became irrelevant to him.

The cryotube's door opened with a hiss, and he pushed himself out. The shackles of the constant cold fell off the moment he took a step out of the frosty bed. His boots met the metal floor with a loud 'clank'.

"Christ Almighty," Sam's eyes widened in awe at the sight before him.

The Spartan was easily massive, standing at an intimidating height of seven feet. Encased in sleek, olive armor of epic proportions, the man looked like a figure of legend — mythical and fearsome.

The Master Chief stepped out of his cryotube, observing the room with the motion of a machine. The reflective visor that made up the front of his helmet made the Spartan even more frightening — a faceless mask that showed no emotion, built for the purpose of death and destruction on psychological levels.

For a moment, Sam was relieved that he was in the observation theater, rather than being in Thom's place down below the bottom level.

The technician realized that Shepard was waiting for the diagnostics report. He checked the displays, showing the Spartan's neural pathways, brainwave activity, and heartbeat in perfect working order. He opened the intercom channel.

"I'll bring his health monitors online now."

The Spartan heard the technician call from the room above, eliciting a nod from the Tech Chief next to him.

"Affirmative," The Tech Chief gestured to the numerous testing stations on the other side of the room.

"Right this way, Chief." The Spartan nodded, walking to the stations where he was led through for the next ten minutes.

Patiently, the Master Chief watched as the majority of his armor's functions were brought back online: rechargeable energy shielding, heath monitors that kept pace with his vitals, and the targeting and optical systems that contributed to his efficient, deadly aim. Once the technician gave the all clear, the Spartan relaxed. He looked down, studying the smooth titanium plating of his Mjolnir armor.

The aforementioned suit, the successor to the Mark IV, was a clear marvel of engineering. Multilayered with different amounts of remarkably tough alloy and costing as much as a UNSC destroyer, the armor practically broke all known barriers of technological advancements. It had a refractive coating that could deflect a certain amount of energy from plasma weapons, a solid-based crystalline storage network that can hold an AI for a tactical advantage on the battlefield, and a thick black bodysuit that contained a gel-filled layer to adjust the user's skin and temperature.

Additionally, memory packets and reactive circuits were integrated into his body, via neural interface — external input slots that had been installed near the base of his skull. When combined with these systems, alongside the physical augmentations, his strength and reflexes have increased to already unimaginable levels. This allowed the Spartan to navigate through the complexities of any battlefield with little to no trouble.

Life Support was a vital part of the armor, and such, many systems were built in to accommodate his health during battle. One of them was the biofoam injectors, which apply medical gel to treat and seal any wounds. This was only a temporary solution, however, and the painful application of the gel only kept him functioning until there was proper medical attention.

Now, the same systems began the process of healing his blistered skin, which was the normal result of entering cryo-stasis fully clothed — or armored in his unique case. He thought it unnecessary. Even without the assistance of pain-killers, SPARTAN-IIs were specially trained to deal with flash-thawing. As such, they suffer little to no effects when awakened, in case of an immediate attack.

It still hurt like hell, but he had suffered much worse.

The Master Chief stood silent, merely nodding when asked questions or complying with requests from the technician. He moved from one test to another, with a mechanical gait that unnerved both technicians in the room. The Spartan ignored them, taking his time with the tests to make sure his suit was in optical condition. He wouldn't want a mechanical failure in battle, after all.

"Alright Chief," His tester said, "You're good to go."

The Spartan nodded again. He noted, with satisfaction, that his HUD was working in perfect order, with data from his neural implant pouring into the glassy interior of his visor. He flexed his hands, banishing away the pain he had come to dissociate and trained against.

It was good to move around again.

"Bridge to Cryo Two — this is Captain Keyes. Send in the Master Chief immediately."

The Spartan heard the announcement clearly. It was finally time to go. Scanning the room, the Master Chief realized there weren't any weapons within the vicinity. He wasn't worried truthfully. There wasn't any immediate danger, but he always felt more comfortable with a weapon in hand.

He kept in mind to find some later.

The Spartan headed out for the door, ignoring the staring eyes of the technicians as he walked out of view.

* * *

The Master Chief walked down the corridors, his armored boots leaving a trail of awe wherever he went. Each step he took made a slight noise that seemed to contrast to the heavy appearance of his armor. The schematics of the _Halcyon_ -class cruiser were deep in his memory, guiding him to the lift that will take him to the bridge. One by one, crewman, technicians, Army, and Marine personnel stopped and stared at the passing Spartan, eyes wide and mouths agape. They parted for him like a human Red Sea, and it seemed that way for the next couple minutes of his silent journey. It wasn't really all that unfamiliar to him. His enormous stature didn't make it easier for him to remain unnoticed most of the time.

He noted the heated stares from a nearby group of ODSTs, one of them he presumed was the leader giving him a look of complete venom. Behind the helmet, his trained eyes glanced at the tag on the soldier's BDU.

MAJOR ANTONIO SILVA

He took a mental note to watch out for this particular trooper in the near future.

Between the frequent amount of staring, and nearly knocking over a crewman who kept calling out for her cat, the journey was rather uneventful. The Spartan passed by a group of Marines, too engrossed in their conversation to notice his presence. His helmet and augmented hearing picked up the chatter of a strange new planet. He curiously listened to their tales of a green, lush world before continuing his walk down the hallway.

The Captain will fill him in with answers later.

It didn't take him long to reach the lift that lead to the bridge, and he patiently waited for the car to reach his level. The doors eventually opened up, and he was met with the startled faces of two Navy crewman. They scrambled out of the lift like bats out of hell, muttering pieces of apologies as the two personnel politely passed by the Spartan. He paid them no heed, stepping inside the lift as the doors closed behind him.

The trip went without incident, and the lift's doors opened into another hallway guarded by a fire-team of Marines. He walked out, nodding to the squad leader as he made his way through the passageway. At the end, he entered through a doorway, revealing the controlled chaos of the _Autumn_ 's bridge. A variety of crewman sat hunched over their respective consoles, supervising the many subsystems of the ship, while others hurriedly ran back and forth to relay data in-between stations. A Lieutenant of Japanese lineage approached him, her grim face showing telltale signs of fatigue. The Spartan had no doubt that she had been working for days without proper rest.

"Sir, the Captain is waiting for you." She pointed to one of two figures by the main tactical display.

The Chief nodded in thanks, passing by the exhausted Lieutenant. He walked up to the Captain's station at the center of the bridge, spotting Keyes in a deep conversation with another officer unfamiliar to him. The Captain studied the screens closely, specifically at a large display of a planet the Spartan assumed was the same one rumored earlier. News definitely traveled fast around the ship at a rate that made the Master Chief shake his head. The mere concept of gossip didn't exactly appeal to him at all.

The Spartan came to attention, training and discipline tensing his body. "Captain Keyes."

Captain Keyes, and the second officer, turned to face him. The former gave a warm smile. "Good to see you Master Chief."

Keyes reached out his hand, and the Spartan politely shook it. The Captain made a sideways nod to his grizzled compatriot. "This is Colonel Holland, the commanding officer of all ground forces onboard the _Autumn_."

The aforementioned officer held out his hand, and the Chief respectfully took it, "Colonel, Sir."

The older man grunted in acknowledgment, "You have quite the reputation, Master Chief. It'll be an honor to see you in action sometime."

The Spartan nodded humbly at the compliment. "Thank you, Sir."

Captain Keyes coughed beside them, turning the heads of both the Colonel and the Spartan.

"Let's get this underway, shall we?" Keyes turned towards a nearby console, "Cortana?"

The AI's lithe form appeared, her holographic eyebrows raised in a thoughtful manner. "A sizable mass and gravity similar to Earth, a diverse array of land masses, massive bodies of oceans—"

Cortana paused, as if she was second guessing herself, "—with an atmosphere rich with oxygen, nitrogen, and other quaint amounts of gases."

She turned to the Chief with a pleased expression on her face, "Sleep well?"

"Yes," The Spartan decided to play along, "no thanks to your driving."

Cortana smiled and took the subtle jab in stride, "So you _did_ miss me."

Keyes and Holland stared, looking both confused and fascinated by the conversation between the two polar opposites.

"I guess we'll start the briefing now," The Captain gestured at the tactical display, showing streams of data collected from the Clarion spy drones pouring onto the screens, supplemented by Cortana's own independent observations.

"Thirty minutes ago, the _Pillar of Autumn_ had exited from a randomized Slip-space jump in accordance with the Cole Protocol," Keyes stopped, sighing with a weariness that was more befitting of his age.

"Then, the moment our ship transitioned into real space, we encounter this." The image of the planet grew steadily larger, until it became clear enough to see the finer details of its spherical surface.

"A chance encounter with a planet that is so similar to Earth, all the way out in the middle of uncharted space," The Captain frowned, his fingers tapping on the wooden pipe. "It seems so awfully coincidental if you ask me."

Colonel Holland, who was less vocal than his naval counterpart, seemed to share Keyes's sentiments. "Agreed."

The Chief remained silent. It didn't really make much sense to the Spartan. Sure, it was rather strange to see a perfectly habitable planet to have pop up out of the nowhere. However, there had been similar situations reported from other UNSC ships after they had transitioned from a randomized jump. Surely, this one couldn't be any different. Captain Keyes seemed to have sensed the Spartan's thoughts.

"It's not the planet itself, Master Chief, it's what _on_ it that worries me."

That caught the Master Chief's attention. The Spartan turned to Keyes, slightly tilting his head in confusion. "On it, Sir?"

The Captain nodded. "Show him, Cortana."

The AI shimmered out of view, her body replaced by an image of a zigzagging radio signal. The signal continued to twist and turn like a serpentine's body, and clips of audio that was imperceptible even to the Chief began to play from the terminal's speakers. They sounded like voices, but the amount of static laced with them made it impossible for any human to understand correctly. Despite that, the Master Chief quickly put two together and understood the situation.

The _Pillar of Autumn_ wasn't the first to arrive here.

There were already people on the planet. It could be humans, evident even from the garbled mess that was the radio signal, but ultimately something obscure. Suddenly, the Spartan could see why the Captain felt so disturbed. They weren't just dealing with a group of Innies; This was something completely unknown and potentially threatening. People with undeniably primitive technology, but advanced enough to send radio signals — and equally advanced weapons in the likelihood.

"This is where you come in, Master Chief," Keyes locked his eyes with the Chief's golden visor. "Colonel Holland is already preparing a ground force for deployment, while you scout ahead with a small recon team of Marines. I want to know what we're up against before we set boots on the ground."

The Captain's eyes remained firmly locked, "Is that understood?"

The Spartan nodded, "I understand."

Keyes glanced at Cortana, "Are you ready?"

The AI looked slightly reluctant. The ship had been her home for many days, and, in many ways, could be seen as a physical extension of herself. However, that uncertainty was overcome by her characteristic excitement, and she let out an eager smile in anticipation, "Yank me."

The Captain turned to a console, touching a series of controls. With one final tap, Cortana's image swirled and disappeared into the pedestal from view. Keyes removed a data chip from the terminal, its core glowing with a bright blue hue, and offered it to the Spartan. The Captain also offered his M6D Magnum pistol, in a sign of trust and respect.

"Cortana will join you on your mission to the surface. Her expertise may help with whatever's going on down there."

The Chief accepted both items, reaching back to insert the data chip into the neural interface at the back of his head. A subtle click was heard, accompanied by a flooding sensation as Cortana began to synchronize within the boundaries of his armor's neural system. It felt like a bucket of cold mercury had been poured into his mind, followed by a brief jab of pain. Then, he subconsciously recognized Cortana's familiar presence. He had worked with her many times before, just prior to the disaster that happened at Reach.

The mental interface between him and the AI would seem intrusive, but it proved to comforting too, since he knew Cortana and her efficient capabilities. He depended on her and she depended on him. If there was one other person he trusted more other than his Spartan comrades, it would be her.

Keyes nodded, "Good luck, Master Chief."

The Chief saluted both officers and left them to their own device, turning to leave the bridge in silence.

* * *

It didn't take long for the lift to carry the Spartan down to one of the _Autumn_ 's eight docking bays.

Stepping outside the lift, the Chief could see numerous UNSC vehicles stored adjacent to each other, with crewman and soldiers hastily moving back and forth carrying weapons or equipment. Hornets, Falcons, and an aircraft the Chief recognized as a Nightingale flew overhead, landed down to different landing pads to get maintained by technicians. To Cortana, everyone and everything within Launch Bay Seven moved like an efficient beehive, their controlled movements nearly taking up the gargantuan hangar bay. To the Spartan, it was refreshing to see UNSC discipline at its finest work.

However, the pair weren't there to sightsee the activity.

He looked around, roaming through the massive hangar bay. Events began to repeat themselves, with personnel that were working on maintenance and Army troopers on Warthogs stopping to stare at him as he walked by. He ignored them, looking around for the transport that will take him on his mission. Cortana lent the Spartan some help, placing a waypoint on a nearby Pelican that was parked next to a single Longsword interceptor.

Thanking the AI, he walked up to the dropship. He noticed a group of Marines standing in two parallel lines outside the Pelican's main troop compartment, their gear at ready and listening to a grizzled Marine that was animatedly shouting unusual obscenities. Things like 'Belly full of lead,' and 'a pool of their own blood to drown in!' spewed out of his mouth, and his younger subordinates responded with an equally ferocious 'Ooh-Rah!' in sync.

The Master Chief stopped in front of the Marines, his armored footsteps alerting them to his presence. They all stared at his enormous figure, some gaping while others began to exchange hushed whispers. The only one who wasn't fazed in the slightest was their leader, who stepped in front of the Spartan with his eyes locked in an undaunted manner.

"Staff Sergeant Avery Junior Johnson, commanding officer of Fire Team Charlie. It's good to see you again, Sir."

The Chief nodded. He recognized the Staff Sergeant from the search-and-destroy mission on the UNSC _Circumference._ Johnson and his unit had proven to been crucial during the fight, assisting him with destroying the NAV data in the ONI prowler that was docked on Gamma Station. Now, it would seem that the Spartan would serve with the Staff Sergeant and his Fire Team once again, but this time on a recon mission.

"Likewise, Staff Sergeant."

Johnson gave a broad grin, "Let's get this show on the road."

He turned to his younger subordinates, "Get a move on, Marines! On the double!"

The rest of Fire Team Charlie complied immediately, piling into the Pelican's main compartment and taking their respective seats. The Master Chief and Johnson made their way inside, sitting in their own seats placed next to the loading ramp. The last people to enter the compartment were the Pelican's pilots: a slim woman with a dirty Navy uniform and a lively smile that seemed to complement her attractive features, and a man with a darker appearance and a more cynical expression.

They approached the Chief and Johnson, the woman smiling brightly while the man mostly remained neutral.

"Welcome aboard, Master Chief, Staff Sergeant. I'm Flight Captain Carol Rawley, pilot of Pelican Echo 419," The Flight Captain grinned, "but you may call me Foe Hammer."

She gestured to her companion, "This is Lieutenant Frye, my co-pilot." The co-pilot in question opted to remain silent, instead giving the two a respectful nod.

"We'll be the ones taking you down to the surface. If you need anything—" Foe Hammer gave a playful wink, "—let me know."

She strode past the two and into the cockpit, followed by her silent co-pilot. Cortana, witnessing the exchange from the Chief's neural network, began to smirk.

"I like her." She said through his helmet's internal speakers.

In response, the Spartan lightly smacked the side of his helmet with his hand, "Don't get any funny ideas."

He heard an annoyed pout, "You're no fun."

The Spartan didn't respond for the next few minutes, silently watching the members of Fire Team Charlie converse with each other.

Suddenly, he felt a brief shudder from within the Pelican, and the dropship's single cargo door closed off the main compartment from the outside world. The Marines stopped their conversations, shifting in their seats as they felt the Pelican's thrusters slowly lift the craft off the ground. Outside, an Army trooper helped guide the dropship with practiced waves of hand signals, while technicians that have been working on the final touches of their maintenance on the Pelican began to swiftly evacuate from the area. With a slight jerk of the passenger's bodies, Echo 419 flew out of the hangar with a powerful push of her engines, diving into the planet's atmosphere below.

Ignoring the rumbling that constantly shook the entire dropship, the Master Chief got out of his seat, walking to the compartment's only weapons locker. He opened up the locker, grabbing one of the MA5B Assault Rifles from the racket and checking the weapon for any defections. Satisfied, he placed the assault rifle on one of his armor's magnetic plates, grabbing extra magazines of 7.62 mm rounds for his newly acquired weapon, as well as spare ammo for the M6 pistol that Keyes gave him.

Snatching a pair of M9 fragmentation grenades, the Spartan noticed a much heavier weapon, a M41 SPNKR Rocket Launcher, firmly placed on the far right of the locker. He inspected it and cycled the barrels, noting the tracking system that made its well worth effectiveness known against the Covenant. He may be on a recon mission, but a weapon like the M41 could prove useful in the long run. Grabbing extra cases of rockets, the Chief placed the rocket launcher on his back before Foe Hammer's voice spoke through the intercoms.

" _Approaching the drop-zone, now!_ "

The Master Chief took out his assault rifle, cocking the weapon, and lowering it in a tense but ready position. Following his example, Fire Team Charlie cocked their rifles and readied their gear, bracing themselves for the eventual landing. A few moments later, they all felt a sudden jerk, and the Pelican's cargo door began to slowly open. A bright light illuminated the compartment, and the passengers immediately disembarked from their seats.

"Go! Go! Go!" Johnson yelled out.

Their boots hit grassy ground, and the Marines formed a defensive perimeter around the Pelican, scanning for any potential threats. The Spartan did likewise, and scrutinized the lush environment around them. So far, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. Checking on his motion tracker, he couldn't find anything that would be considered hostile within his perceptual radar. However, he didn't let his guard down, his eyes double checking the area for the slightest bit of movement. The Staff Sergeant barked an all-clear, and the Marines began to relax and lower their weapons. Turning around, the Chief saw Echo 419 lift off the ground, kicking up grass and dirt with her numerous thrusters.

" _I'll be back with more supplies. Call me if you need anything._ "

"Roger, Foe Hammer." Cortana responded over the comms.

The Spartan merely nodded to Foe Hammer, and the Pelican climbed higher until it shot off into the sky with an intense shockwave that ruffled nearby trees. The disturbance scared some of the wildlife as well, causing some of the Marines to hastily aim their rifles at a pack of small deer that ran from the bushes and past the Fire Team in an alarmed panic.

"It's just a bunch of dumb animals. Lower your damn weapons, Marines!" Johnson reprimanded.

The soldiers did so, but continuedly held their weapon at ready. The rest of the recon team watched the dropship disappear into the blackness of space, presumingly back on the _Autumn_ to get more supplies for them. It would be a while before more support arrived, so the group will have to make due with what they have for now.

"Let's not stand around any longer, Chief. I'll place the waypoint for our first objective." True to Cortana's word, the diamond-shaped waypoint appeared on his visor, pointing him in the direction of a large forest.

The Spartan gazed onward, his mouth curling into a frown. "A forest?"

"Small energy readings that originated within the center of this forest," Cortana explained, "investigating them first can help us reach the first steps of understanding this world, and hopefully allow us to figure out what we're up against here."

The AI let out a joking smirk, "You don't mind doing a girl a quick favor, hmm?"

The Master Chief merely shook his head. How could he ever refuse a request from an old friend? He turned to Johnson, who stood with his Fire Team at disciplined attention.

"We're heading into the forest. Ready your men." The Staff Sergeant nodded.

"Yes, Sir," He turned to face the Marines, "get your asses moving! We're heading out!"

Immediately, the Marines grabbed their gear, checking their weapons and equipment. With each individual inspections complete, they started to trek into the lush denseness beyond, with Johnson leading up at the front of the unit. The Chief followed closely behind, his Mjolnir helmet surveying the trees cautiously as the recon team walked through the broad entrance of the massive forest.

Unknown to the Spartan or Fire Team Charlie, they were being closely watched. Pairs of sharp, cold eyes watched the movements of the UNSC soldiers, their bows held but not drawn. They had no reason to instigate a conflict, so it was of better reason to stay back and watch the outsiders from afar.

A breeze of wind blew leaves over the hiding places camouflaged in the trees — and within the same moment, the eyes simply vanished from view.


	5. The Koan Forest

**AN: Sorry for the long wait. Sheer laziness and school had stalled my motivation for quite a while. However, a newly found amount of free time on my hands and the surprising amount of support for this story has allowed me to write this chapter, so I apologize in advance to keep you all waiting. Again, I thank you all for taking the time out of your day to read my story, and I hope you have a wonderful day.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any Halo or Gate - Jietal Kare no Chi nite, Kaku Tatakeri content. They belong to their respective owners.**

* * *

 **The Rising Autumn**

 **Chapter 4: The Koan Forest**

 **Location: Unknown**

 **Date: [September 19, 2552] [05:00 UNSC Standard time]**

* * *

The Master Chief's honed instincts and years of training screamed at him, causing him to tighten the grip on his MA5B Assault rifle. He couldn't help but feel like he was being watched, ignoring the sound his boots leaving noticeable imprints on the ground with each step.

The Spartan and Fire Team Charlie, consisting of nearly twenty five veteran Marines, hiked through the forest in a rather uneventful fashion. Aside from a few stray animals, nothing noteworthy had come to encounter them, and, for the most part, it put the Chief rather on edge.

Nearly three hours had past, and the recon team continued to journey towards their destination. Within the small group, the Marines had begun to show signs of discomfort and fatigue from the non-stop walking. The only thing keeping them from complaining outright was their fierce discipline — and the subconscious fear of being aggressively chewed out by the legendary mouth of their commanding officer.

Eventually, the aforementioned Staff Sergeant noticed his subordinates' slower pace, stopping the group at a large clearing and facing his fellow soldiers. The Marines eagerly stopped, as well as the stoic Spartan accompanying them.

"We'll stop here for now. Bisenti, Riley, and Dubbo, you take watch," He ordered.

The mentioned Marines nodded, bringing their weapons to bear and taking their respective posts by the edges of the clearing. Johnson turned to the remaining members of his team.

"The rest of you, take a breather. We'll head out in twenty minutes."

The soldiers began to settle in the clearing, taking off their gear and stretching numerous stiff muscles. All of them gathered in a loose semi-circle around the clearing, to take up the immense space available and to watch each other's backs in case of a surprise attack.

One Marine, PFC Jenkins, sat down within a short distance away from the tree lines and took off his helmet. Running a hand through his sweaty auburn hair, he stretched an especially sore spot and sighed heavily as a wave of warm relief flowed through his shoulders. He felt an elbow jab into his side, and the annoyed Marine glanced to see his comrade, Private Mendoza, joining him and giving a friendly smirk.

"Hey man, what do you think about our resident Spartan?" He asked, causing Jenkins to blink.

"The Chief?" The two soldiers glance at the Spartan, who was standing near the group in a disturbingly immobile manner. The still posture made them shiver in slight awe and nervousness.

Jenkins shook his head, "I don't really know, but for what it's worth, I'm glad he's with us. With him here, we would be better off in the long run."

He thought his own opinion to be rather biased, in all honesty. Ever since Harvest, he had faced the Covenant on many different occasions — and on many he didn't fathom mentioning, death had nearly confronted him in the face. Had it not been for the Master Chief and his own stroke of luck, he would have certainly died long ago. He didn't have the chance to thank the Chief for saving his life, and he really did want to, but the Spartan was known to be extremely asocial.

In this situation, Jenkins didn't think it was appropriate to say anything nor did he have the courage to speak to someone who likely would rebuke him. However, the Marine still felt obligated, and he vowed to somehow find a way to make it up to the Chief, one way or another.

Beside him, Mendoza frowned but nodded in agreement, "Yeah, but what does that speak of our mission? What are we even supposed to be doing here?"

"We're following orders, Mendoza," Jenkins commented with a stern look. He had an idea of where this was going, "if the Captain felt like it's important to send us _and_ the Chief down here, then by all means, it's probably important."

Mendoza nearly snorted, "Important? Here? We should be out there fighting Covies, instead of hiking on some backwater planet in the middle of nowhere."

Jenkins eyed him with curiosity and said nothing, while Mendoza looked down in thought.

"Back on Reach," The Private's hands balled into tight fists, "I had family, and they were all taken away from me in New Alexandria. Man, they didn't even have the chance to evacuate when the damn Covenant ships appeared over the city." The Marine's expression hardened by the memory, and he slightly gritted his teeth.

"Don't you see?" The sheer sadness in his comrade's eyes nearly took Jenkins aback, "what good are we if we're not even fighting to protect our fellow man? For those who can't even fight back?"

"My family, _all of them_ , are dead, because I wasn't even there to help them in their time of need!" He nearly shouted.

A heavy silence overcame them, and Jenkins couldn't think of anything to say to the Marine at first. The conversation had just turned unexpectedly. Although, he had the good grace to give Mendoza a sympathetic look. Maybe he had been too harsh on him, especially from what his comrade had just revealed to him, "I'm sorry for your loss, man. I didn't know."

Mendoza let out a mirthless chuckle, "Not your fault, brother. I was overacting, anyway. We all have lost family in some way or another."

"That's true," Jenkins sighed sadly. He, and mostly everyone onboard the _Pillar of Autumn_ , was unfortunately no exception to that rule. It was a common occurrence for those who had an encounter with the Covenant, "mine's was killed back on Harvest when the Covenant first invaded."

Jenkins decided to change the subject, "I was in the Colonial Militia at the time, First Platoon. My folks wanted me to become a farmer, but I wanted to do more, so I joined. Sergeant was there, too."

"No freaking way! The Sarge?" His fellow Marine widened his eyes at the unexpected news.

Jenkins hadn't told Mendoza, or anyone in his Fire Team except for the Staff Sergeant, about his past. He felt no reason to, as everyone in the unit trusted each other enough to keep their own secrets, but there would eventually be a time where he had to tell them sooner or later.

"Hell yeah," The PFC gazed in a reminiscent manner.

"He was the leader of my platoon, and he'd always chewed me out during combat training and exercises. Before the battle, there had been many times where I thought I wouldn't have been able to pull my weight."

He smiled, "I've never felt so useless in my life, but it was because of the Sarge that I was able to become who I am right now. It was hard, but I never regretted every single moment of the crap I went through."

A voice cut into their conversation, "He was a real pain in the ass at first, but in the end, he made good Marine Corps material,"

Both soldiers spun around in astonishment to see Staff Sergeant Johnson, standing behind them with an amicable smirk on his face.

"He was quick on his feet during live exercises, and became one of the most skilled sharpshooter out of the whole Harvest militia," Johnson gave the PFC a good-natured grin, "quite sharp and talented for a freshly trained greenhorn."

Jenkins and Mendoza quickly stood up and gave their CO a crisp salute, "Sarge!"

Johnson chucked amusingly, "At ease, men. We're on a break, so quit the act." He dismissed them, and the two lowered their arms in confusion.

The Staff Sergeant looked at Jenkins, "Son, regardless of what you thought of me beforehand, I saw potential within you. When you proved yourself in that time when we first fought the Covies, I saw a real soldier, not an inexperienced recruit."

He put a hand on the PFC'S shoulder and squeezed tightly.

"You did me proud, son. Keep it up, and the alien bastards will know true fear in the face of us, Marines!"

Jenkins was caught off guard by the rare compliment, and he couldn't help but grin widely, "Ooh-rah, Sarge."

"And Mendoza," The Private stood straighter as Johnson's eyes bore into him, "we are fighting. Just not in the way you're expecting. Trust me, the Covenant will pay dearly for their troubles."

After his conversation with Jenkins, Mendoza didn't have much to say, much less an actual retort to back up. However, he did crack a small smile, "Crystal clear, Sir."

The Staff Sergeant nodded at his two subordinates, "Good. Make the most out of your break, then, because we'll be heading out soon."

"Yes, Sarge!" Jenkins and Mendoza responded in kind, giving off another brief salute.

However, the former did have burning question forming at the back of his mind, and he began to snicker lightly.

"Hey, Sarge. Did you ever get to bang that ONI spook back on Harvest?"

Johnson nearly sputtered in surprise, while Mendoza quietly chuckled at his CO's expense, and causing the Staff Sergeant's mustache to scrunch up with his scowl. "Careful with that tongue of yours, Jenkins, or I'll make you run laps in full gear back on the _Autumn_."

The two Marines bursted out in laughter, with the slightly bashful Johnson glaring at them briefly before joining them as well. With the stress that had come from Reach, it was nice to have some of that burden lifted off, even if it was by a small margin. Humanity will never know true peace, until the Covenant no longer become a threat to them.

It was a far, almost futile, goal, but it was still there, hanging by a tree's branch like a juicy apple waiting to be plucked. Jenkins hoped for that day to become possible, and equally hoped to live see the day happen with his own eyes.

Once the three had eventually stopped their chuckling, Jenkins turned around to grab his helmet from the ground.

Instead, he found himself nearly colliding with a soft bundle of blonde hair, with elegant teal blue eyes that curiously stared into his own. The orbs were so alluring, almost entrancing, that Jenkins had briefly forgotten to breathe, looking down at the stranger before him. Caught off guard, he could faintly hear Johnson and Mendoza both shout in surprise, quickly bringing their respective weapons to bear. The face, delicate and practically inhuman, tilting to the side in a combination of puzzlement and wonder.

Then, in one moment, a dainty hand reached up to lightly brush the chest plating of his Marine BDU — with a warm smile soon following afterward.

* * *

The Master Chief stood a good distance away, watching the members of Fire Team Charlie animatedly interact with each other. He observed how they would bring up a number of topics unfamiliar to him, the usual talks of family back home or getting laid by a hot woman, and he noticed several others hungrily chowing down on standard UNSC rations.

The Spartan approvingly noted how the more senior members of the team took the time to dissemble and clean their weapons, or made sure their gear wasn't compromised. On the other hand, some basked in the peacefully serene air of the forest around them, and he had overheard two of them briefly talk about him before switching over to another topic. Nonetheless, the amount of interaction happening in front of him made the usually anti-social Spartan rather uncomfortable. It felt almost alien to him.

However, there was also the issue concerning his everlasting feeling of being watched, and the Spartan became ever slightly rigid as he double-checked the tree lines surrounding them.

"Something wrong, Chief?" Cortana's voice questioned through his helmet's internal speakers. Her tone bled genuine concern and worry, something he didn't thought was typical for an AI of her kind. Then again, Cortana _was_ created from the flash-clond brain of Dr. Halsey, so his surprise became less incredulous when he shook his head in dismissal.

"Nothing," He denied quickly. The Spartan could hear Cortana pout in annoyance.

"I may not be a human, but I'm a good judge of character to know something is bothering you," She crossed her arms, "so please, tell me. We're partners — and partners look out for each other, remember?"

The Chief sighed, remaining silent for a moment. She had a good point, and he didn't have any other reason to back up a retort. To argue with her, an advanced AI, would be a pointless gesture.

"Something is wrong," The Spartan finally conceded, "my motion tracker shows no contacts, but my instincts tell me otherwise. I feel like someone is watching me."

Which was, from his point of view, valid reasoning considering numerous occasions that had happened in the past. The man made the soldier, not his gear, and from what his mentor, Chief Mendez, had taught him during the first years of training, equipment was especially prone to fail during even the heat of combat.

Kurt, a close comrade and friend, had his thruster pack malfunction during an EVA mission on a construction platform. He spun into the blackness of space, the lack of gravity overtaking him and never to be seen by anyone else ever again. Afterward, he was declared an ironic MIA as a result.

The experience had nearly overwhelmed the Master Chief with guilt and sadness, but it had taught him better than to just rely solely on his own gear. He was not willingly to repeat the same mistake.

The Chief continued his watch, eyes akin to that of a leery hawk. His AI companion merely watched him from within his helmet, giving the Spartan a disapproving frown.

"I understand your concern, John," Cortana said softly, "but as far as I'm concerned, we're in no real danger. There haven't been any other life forms we've encountered besides the wildlife, and the Covenant is light years away from where we are, none the wiser."

The Chief didn't respond, and the AI took it as a sign to continue, "Besides, take this chance to relax for a moment. Loosen up a bit. You've been fighting for almost your entire life,"

"I'll relax when I'm dead."

Cortana sighed, "That's my point, John. You're a human, not a machine."

The Spartan thought the statement ironic, coming from an AI, "I have a duty to humanity, Cortana. Regardless of my health, I'll continue to fight even if it kills me in the end."

"I'm not talking about your physical health, you dense barbarian," She closed her eyes and gave a weak smile, "at least think about what I'm asking. I don't want my favorite caveman to stumble and fall because he couldn't stop for a quick break. There's two of us in here, remember?"

A faintly small smile graced the Spartan's mouth for a moment, "I'll consider it."

The two shared a brief period of mutual silence before the Chief decided to pass the time by patrolling the clearing with the guarding marines. He let the Staff Sergeant know of his intentions, and the Marine gave him a thumbs up in response. With his MA5B in hand and secondary M6D safely locked onto his magnetic holster, the Spartan joined the soldiers near the edge of the clearing.

The first fifteen minutes of his patrol went unsurprisingly inconclusive, but a sudden crack of static from his helmet's comm system made him shortly pause on his stroll.

"Cortana, this is _Pillar of Autumn_ actual. Do you read?" Keyes's gruff voice rang through.

The Chief heard Cortana respond immediately, "I read you, Captain Keyes. What's the situation?"

"Busy, so far. Ground forces are getting ready to support your team within a few hours. Has your team reached the energy signatures, yet?" Even through the connection, the two could hear the subtle tiredness in the Captain's voice.

Cortana shook her head, "Negative, but we should be a few clicks away, and our team is ready to head out within a few minutes,"

"Good. Master Chief," The Spartan instinctively straightened his posture, "Sir,"

"Foe Hammer should be returning with more supplies for you and Fire Team Charlie within the hour. In the meantime, continue with your mission."

Keyes's tone became unreadable, "If there is an event where you find yourself and your team's safety in extreme jeopardy, pull out immediately. I don't want anymore good men dying on my watch."

The Chief nodded respectively, "Understood, Captain."

"Then good luck, Spartan. Keep Cortana safe."

The connection then cut out, and the Chief was silently left to his own devices. They only had a few more hours until the main task force arrived, and Foe Hammer should arrive in an hour with more equipment and firepower, if need be. Within five more minutes of their break left, this left them an entire hour to complete their mission, and hold off there until more support can arrive and reinforce them. Good, that meant they can maintain a fairly stable presence on the ground, and hopefully allow Cortana to work her research on the energy signatures in the meantime. Everything should be going as planned.

"Uh, Chief," Cortana interrupted suddenly.

 _Speak of the devil_.

Confused, the Spartan stopped and frowned under his helmet, "Yes, Cortana?"

"The energy signatures," She hesitated for a brief moment, "they're moving."

His blood suddenly became freezing cold, and he felt a feeling of slight dread wash over him. "Where?"

The three Marines accompanying him stared in bewilderment, confused by his rigid, motionless state. A few seconds of silence had past, an unusually long time for an AI to respond, and when she did, her usual sassy demeanor was replaced by a more alarmed state.

"They're closing on Fire Team Charlie's position, and in a really fast rate. ETA: one minute."

The Spartan nearly clenched his teeth, and at the same time, a brief crackle of static came from his helmet's comm system. Sergeant Johnson's voice came through.

"Chief, come in, over," The sergeant's usually gruff voice had a noticeable amount of caution in it, and caused the Chief to narrow his eyes slightly.

"What is it, Staff Sergeant?" He asked.

"There's a situation over at the clearing. We need you over here, ASAP."

The Spartan's mouth settled into a grim line, "Understood."

He turned to the Marines, "You three," causing them to snap into attention, "we're heading back."

One of the Marines, Private Bisenti, nodded to him, "Yes, Sir!"

The four quickly turned tail into the opposite direction, and the Spartan felt a brief moment of premonition as they began to run back to the camp. Their mission had just suddenly become more interesting. Within a quarter of a minute, the Master Chief and the three Marines arrived back to the massive clearing, and he could clearly see there was some sort of obvious commotion happening.

The Marines of Fire Team Charlie, most without their gear even equipped, stood at a safe distance away from something by the tree lines. They all erred on the side of caution, pointing their various weapons at whatever had startled them with close scrutiny. An air of tenseness permitted the air, in contrast with the vibrant atmosphere of the forest around them.

Behind the Spartan, the three soldiers that had accompanied him walked up to join their comrades, while Staff Sergeant Johnson backed up away slowly from the Marines. He sighed in relief as he turned to face the Master Chief.

"Thank goodness you're here, Chief."

The Spartan gave Johnson a confused tilt of his helmet, "What's going on, Staff Sergeant?"

The senior Marine shook his head, "See for yourself." and pointed to the center of the commotion.

Using his superior size and and the Mark V's advanced tracking system, the Chief peered over the Marines, and looked to where the Staff Sergeant had directed him to. His golden visor stopped at the middle of the disturbance. Almost immediately, the sight he saw made him slightly open his mouth behind his helmet in a rare show of surprise, and his eyes began to widened by a minuscule fraction.

However, none of the people present were more shocked than Cortana, who had a look that absolutely screamed excitement. His AI companion had an expression of pure scientific interest, which he quietly noted almost made her look nearly identical to a younger Dr. Halsey.

"Oh my god," She gawked in surprise.

Standing in front of the group was a teenage girl, a human looking one that caused the Spartan to narrow his eyes in suspicion. Light blonde hair swept past her shoulders, and her teal eyes held a tone of airy curiosity that looked rather innocent. She wore a leafy verdant dress, which seemed to flawlessly blend in with the forest like a natural form of camouflage, with loose sleeves that went barely past her elbows. Equally green leg coverings wrapped around her thighs, moving up to her knees, and supplemented by a pair of brown sandals that looked to be made up of a soft wooden material.

Strapped on her back was a primitive bow, carved with rather intricate markings, and a quiver filled with an assortment of sharp arrows. A red scarf hung around her neck unconstrained, and the girl's acute face held a stunning youth that smoothly complemented her age.

However, the shock of the recon group was not caused by her clothes or her human features, but from the pair of her ears, _pointed_ ears, that subtly twitched from the sides of her tilted head.

From behind the Marines, the Master Chief slowly sauntered to the girl, carefully raising his MA5B. To the naked eye, the girl appeared perfectly human, with the exception of the ears, and in a different circumstance, the gathered soldiers wouldn't had acted so hostile. However, this girl, whoever she was, was clearly not human, and somehow managed to sneak into the camp without alerting him or the Marines. That raised multiple red flags in his mind — and he became ever so slightly tense as the barrel of his assault rifle was aimed at the head of the intruder.

The pointy eared girl, on the other hand, didn't seem bothered by his presence. Instead, she had all of her concentration on one Marine, his IFF tag reading as PFC Wallace Jenkins, with the poor soldier looking unsure of what to do. In his gloved hands was a M392 DMR, pointed at her in an obvious show of conflict. The Marine stood very still, as if he was afraid of waking up a pack of sleeping wolves, while his target gazed at the firearm in an unperturbed, inquisitive manner.

The contrast between the two's behavior would have been amusing to the onlookers, had not the situation become so serious. The Marine took a small step backward, causing the girl to take a step forward, right next to Jenkins' dropped helmet. Immediately, the recon group raised their weapons even higher in alarm.

"Is this a Covie trick?!"

"Does she look like a Split Lip to you, dumbass?"

"I don't know, man. She looks pretty human to me, aside from the ears."

The Master Chief, in comparison to the Marines, was more refined with his words, "Cortana, is that what I think it is?"

From within the Spartan's Mjolnir armor, Cortana examined the girl with the precision of a microscope. The AI crossed her arms, shaking her head with no small amount of amazement, "An Elf, an honest-to-god Elf."

The Chief frowned, "I thought Elves were supposed to be a myth."

"Thirty years ago, the idea of aliens would have been considered a myth, too," Cortana retorted with a chuckle, "it's no surprise that everything we proved as false and fairy tale will eventually be thrown right into our faces, in the flesh even. I just hope it won't be worth any more lives, though."

The Spartan couldn't agree with her more. Concerning the Elven girl herself, she was still a foreign entity, with unknown capabilities that could be a potential threat to himself and the recon team. Her bow and arrows reinforced his point, although she didn't make any hostile attempt, and the Chief didn't want to start a conflict because of something he did not understand.

If anything else, _they_ were the trespassers, antagonizing an innocent native that did nothing particular wrong, other than her acting on her own quaint curiosity. For the briefest moment, the Master Chief had no idea what to do.

Fortunately for the Spartan, fate had decided to take action for him.

"Uh, Chief? Do you remember the energy signatures from earlier?" Cortana asked suddenly, and the Chief nodded back in confusion, "I'm detecting the same signature from within the girl, but just on a slightly different level. Nonetheless, it's the same — she's one of them, John."

The Spartan thought about what Cortana had just told him. If the Elven girl was just 'one' of the energy signatures they were set out to look for, then the _rest_ of them heading towards their camp were—

"Shit!" One Marine yelled out, "Multiple contacts, inbound. Crap, they're everywhere!"

Having been sitting idle and clean for the past few hours, the Spartan's built-in motion tracker had unexpectedly blared to life. Advanced sensors that were designed to detect targets from up to twenty-five meters began to become chokingly filled with small dots, and the Spartan could see from his HUD that the number continued to grow steadily higher. Eventually, the individual dots became a massive grey sea of contacts, surrounding the central dot that represented his person.

Shouts of gibberish and faintly familiar words reached his ears, and the Chief turned around to see a mass of contacts encircling him and Fire Team Charlie. A literal _army_ of Elves, male and some female, began to spread out in a loose formation around the small UNSC group, and drew out their bows to prepare a volley of arrows, nocking their projectiles. Likewise, Fire Team Charlie responded by shifting their aim from the now forgotten Elven girl, to her entrapping brethren with an array of MA5Bs, BR55s, and DMRs.

It was clear that the Elven force had the humans entirely outnumbered, but both sides stood their ground, unflinching and resolute. Sharp eyes glaring at the recon team, the Elves kept their bows raised and shifted on their feet, while the Marines similarly kept their fingers on the triggers, letting out short and controlled breaths. A tense stand-off ensued, neither side willing to let out the first shot.

The Master Chief relocated quietly, positioning himself in front of the recon group with his MA5B raised. If the Elves somehow fired first, then his armor's energy shielding can take the brunt of the arrows, while the Marines fire back with a volley of retaliative fire and take them down before they could react. However, the Spartan hoped it wouldn't have to come to that. Unlike the Covenant, the Elves appear to be reasonable people, and hopefully with a few peaceful gestures, they can be pacified before a full blown conflict can erupt.

Something had to be done.

By then, the Elves had noticed his presence, and they began to whisper among themselves. The Spartan could feel dozens of eyes bore into him, some in slight awe and caution at his massive armored stature, but he idly ignored them.

He didn't ignore, however, the Elven girl that stood by Fire Team Charlie. From the corner of his visor, he could see her watching the scene unfold in a mixture of both horror and dismay. Clearly, she felt like she was responsible for the whole ordeal, and the Chief saw the Elf's eyes steel to a degree that actually impressed him.

She began to stride over to the middle of the stand-off, standing right next to the Spartan and positioned herself in-between the two opposing forces. The girl was possibly putting herself in grave danger by doing so, but it allowed the humans much ample breathing room as the Elves lowered their bows, hesitant and unsure of themselves now that one of their own was in the line of fire.

A moment later, a male Elf stepped out from the massive circle, calling out to the Elven girl with words that were once again unrecognizable to the Spartan. She responded in kind, and the two ran to the middle, colliding with each other in an affectionate embrace. The Chief deduced that the Elven male was the girl's father, given that their actions proved that they had some sort of relationship going on.

The two engaged into an animated conversation, with the girl making excited gestures and remarks, clearly defending him and the UNSC forces, while the father looked more unsure and unconvinced. In the meanwhile, Cortana observed the language that the Elves had been utilizing, and she found herself extremely fascinated by it.

"Try to stall them for a minute to two, Chief. I can get a translator program up and running."

The Chief looked at his AI in a small amount of surprise, "You were able to translate their language that quickly?"

"Well, it's not an entirely different language, actually," Cortana elaborated, "it's an unique amalgamation of both Latin and Greek, with tiny pieces of other words and phrases I haven't seen before."

That surprised the Spartan. It could be possibly why the Spartan had barely recognized a couple of Elven words, "And you're saying that these people are speaking _human_ languages?" Ancient by modern standards, but authentic human languages to a certain extent.

"Possibly," The AI responded, "but it's tough to say without more information and further research. Ah, wait a moment, Chief."

He waited for a couple more seconds, watching the Elven father and daughter pair finish up their private discussion. The two looked at him expectantly, and a moment later, Cortana appeared on his HUD, finally finished with her work.

"Alright, Chief. Approach them, and yank me when you get there."

The Spartan nearly hesitated, unsure of Cortana's request. However, he knew by instinct that he should trust his AI companion, and the Chief slightly shook his head as he approached the two Elves. The girl gave him a warm smile, while the father studied him with a cautious glint in his eyes. The Spartan couldn't blame him, for he would have probably felt the same, had their positions been switched.

Once he stopped, he was motionless for a moment, and he started to reach for the back of his helmet to remove Cortana's data chip. The girl, and even the father, watched him curiously, while the Elven party behind them tensed in bated breath. Likewise, Fire Team Charlie readied themselves, gripping their respective weapons in anticipation.

Hearing a subtle click, the Master Chief felt Cortana's cold mercury presence leave his mind, and slowly held out his right hand. No sooner then he did, a projection of a beautiful woman, blue and fair, appeared from the Spartan's armored palm.

The Elves, including the pair, let out startled gasps of shock and surprise. They watched in amazement as the tiny woman rose from her kneeling position, her eyes revealed to be a hue of ocean blue. Most of the elves quietly whispered to themselves, while the rest merely stared at the projection with a mix of awe and curious fascination.

" _Greetings, I am Cortana,_ " the woman spoke up, surprising both the Elves and the Marines of Fire Team Charlie with the sudden use of the Elven language. She gazed upon the Elven father and daughter with a warm expression, " _may I ask for your names_?"

The two gave each other a look, while the father began to clear his throat, " _I am Hodor Marceau, and this is my daughter, Tuka Luna Marceau."_

He gestured to his daughter, who waved to the AI with a friendly grin, " _What are you, exactly?_ "

Cortana responded immediately, " _I am a Guardian spirit, protectors of these valiant men you see before you. We seek potential relations with your noble people, and we wish no blood to be shed for either side._ "

The Marines, reading the translations through the program Cortana had sent to them with their helmet's visors, began to chuckle lightly. They knew too well that the AI was practically bullshitting the entire first phrase. The Master Chief remained silent as ever, interested to what she had to say.

" _We come in peace, Hodor. So please, calm your aggressions. No more fighting, for the benefit of both parties."_

Hearing the AI's proposition, Hodor held a hand to his chin, a considerate expression on his face, _"May I ask one more question, then?"_

Seeing Cortana nod to him, he narrowed his eyes, first scrutinizing the Master Chief, and then to the members of Fire Team Charlie, " _Who are you people?"_

There was a brief moment of silence.

 _"We?"_ Cortana curtsied slightly — and looked up to give the gathered Elves a subtle smile.

" _We are the UNSC._ "

* * *

 **That's Chapter 4! Hoped you enjoyed it! :)**


	6. The Marine and the Elf

**AN:** **I want to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who has supported my story, from the beginning to now. Nearly forty reviews left for my last chapter, and a rating that surpassed 35,000 hits for the entire story. Not sure how much that's worth compared to other stories, but I consider it a big achievement. Once again, thank you, and I hope you have a wonderful day.**

 **Also, if you have the time, please check out my newly** **published story, Exitus Acta Probat.**

 **Disclaimer:** **I do not own any Halo or Gate - Jietal Kare no Chi nite, Kaku Tatakeri content. They belong to their respective owners.**

* * *

 **The Rising Autumn**

 **Chapter 5: The Marine and the Elf**

 **Location: Koan Forest**

 **Date: [September 19, 2552] [5:30 UNSC Standard Time]**

* * *

Nothing but silence filled the chilly air.

On one side of the coin, two blonde Elves, Hodor and his daughter, Tuka, gave off confused stares. Their surrounding brethren kept their stances tense and ready, although they glanced at each other with some bewilderment. It was rather obvious that the blue woman's words were lost upon them, no matter how clear her translated voice was to them. On the other, the mix of Marines and a single Spartan faced the natives in a similiar manner, paying attention to the proceedings with calm discipline.

" _U-N-S-C?_ " The unaccustomed acronym was jumbled on Hodor's tongue experimentally, twisting it slowly with his foreign accent.

 _"I'm afraid I am unfamiliar with such a nation."_ He glanced at Fire Team Charlie with a wary, but curious look, " _M_ _uch less a group of humans associated with that title._ "

From the palm of the Master Chief, Cortana began to nod in understanding, _"Of course, Hodor. However, you must begin to realize that we are not of this world. Our people merely come as visitors."_

 _"And with no malicious intent towards us?"_ Hodor's eyes narrowed slightly.

Cortana smiled, _"We merely wish to have diplomatic relations with the Elven people, nothing more. To better understand the exotic nature of this land would require your help, and it can be achieved in a much efficient and peaceful manner. Violence is an unnecessary alternative we would rather avoid."_

The Chief didn't want to admit it, but Cortana was a surprisingly smooth talker. With nothing but a few impromptu words, she was able to appease an unknown group of non-human natives. A few words that achieved something that he or the Marines probably wouldn't have been able to accomplish in time. Once again, the Spartan was silently glad he had the company of the intelligent AI.

Had the situation been allowed to play in a different circumstance, the entire mission would have most likely ended in a much less favorable outcome.

Fortunately, the Elves didn't show any pernicious intent, at least not yet. He knew Captain Keyes would rather have it stay that way until a reasonable solution can be resolved. In the meantime, the Spartan wasn't going to hold in his breath.

 _"You say you have come from a different world."_ Hodor's expression didn't change at all, " _W_ _hat do you mean by_ _this?"_

Cortana's eyes twinkled, " _I do not twist my words. We come from a place that goes far beyond the skies of this world, and even further out into the blackness of the night. We travel beyond the stars_ _themselves, Hodor, that I can only say for now."_

There was a deep silence as Hodor took it all in with a blank expression on his face. For a second, the AI was afraid that the male Elf wouldn't buy her answer. But her worries were relieved when he let out a heavy sigh after a few moments.

 _"That is a rather incredulous statement, fair Guardian. Nonetheless, it would explain the strange armor and weapons your soldiers carry, and the lack of knowledge of the continent your feet stand upon."_ The older Elf seemed to accept her claim rather easily.

Cortana crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes showing some amount of genuine interest, " _May you i_ _ndulge us, then?_ "

" _Of course._ " Hodor respectfully nodded.

The Elf took a deep breath of air, calmly preparing himself to deliver his brief lecture, "Y _ou are presently in the vast land of Falmart. My people are currently a small, uncommon population of Elves in this part of the continent. We isolate ourselves within this forest in order to avoid contact with the other nations."_

The Master Chief didn't fail to notice how the blonde Elf regarded the 'other nations' with a sense of disdain. It was subtle, almost imperceptible to a normal human, and it was hidden with a skill that spoke decades of practice.

He frowned from under his helmet.

Years of training and experience fighting against the Covenant had helped him develop a sixth sense of catching important detail. Even the smallest of aspects, regarding both potential allies and enemies alike, didn't miss his metaphorical net. Battle hardened instinct filled him with suspicion — and his augmented eyes narrowed at the male Elf warily.

On the other hand, one of Fire Team Charlie's members, Private Mendoza, chuckled at one small but noticeable detail.

"Falmart?" He scoffed amusingly at the translation, "What kind of fucking name is th—"

The poor Marine was cut off by the recon team's second in command, Sergeant Stacker, who roughly elbowed his side with a hard jab.

"You best shut your mouth, Mendoza!" He hissed quietly.

His subordinate did so immediately, but it was already too late. From the opposite end, the two Elves tilted their heads in confusion and concern. Having no prior knowledge of the modern English language, the non-human pair didn't understand, nor recognize the implications of what the Marine nearly spat out.

Cortana, the shrewd and canny AI she was, decided to use this to her advantage.

 _"No need for worry, Hodor. My charges are merely curious,"_ She clarified with a smile, never taking her eyes off the Elves, " _although even I am intrigued with the culture of this land. Tell me, why do you intend to isolate yourself from the outside world?"_

It was a fair question, but the Spartan could see that didn't make it any more comfortable for the male Elf to come up with an answer, _"We are the High Elves, a proud people that have been a part of these lands for countless generations. We pride ourselves as skilled hunters: our agility and elegance mixed with years of wisdom and grace,"_

Hodor sighed, _"However, because of our_ —" he paused for a moment, _'unique traits' and rare presence in the continent, we become a constant target for those who wish to exploit our abilities."_

Cortana processed the details with the speed of a soaking sponge, swiftly working her fascinated mind with each new information.

 _"Unique traits?"_ She asked.

Almost immediately, the male High Elf nodded with a small smile, _"Aye, Lady Cortana. Observe."_

Hodor leaned over to say something into Tuka's ear. A moment later, the Elven girl eagerly nodded back with a cheerful smile.

Shifting to the right in an impressively sturdy stance, Tuka gracefully brought her personal bow to bear. She aimed her weapon at a nearby tree, nocking a single arrow from her quiver into place. Easily ignoring the resistance of the pulled string, she quietly whispered what the Chief thought to be a strange chant of some kind. A second later, the Elf finally released the string.

To say the least, the recon group were treated to a sight that they certainly did not expect to see.

By some unknown force, the arrow flew into the air at an incredibly accelerated speed to which even the eyes of the Marines could actually _see_ the distortions of wind that surrounded the primitive projectile. Eventually, Newton's first law of motion took hold, and the super-sonic arrow was forcibly lodged into the tough bark of the tree. Splintered fragments of demolished wood scattered onto the ground like pieces of pencil shavings. The arrow itself was found to be surprisingly intact, by some means undamaged by the violent stop. The upper half of the tree, no longer able to support itself, fell to the ground in a heap of fluttered leaves and branches.

The quietness that followed was almost palpable to touch.

"What the fuck!"

Lowering her bow, the Elven girl turned back to see the small human group in an assortment of mixed reactions. Most, if not all, of the Marines stared at her, looking back and forth between the damaged tree and the grinning Elf. It was obvious with their wide eyes that the younger members of the team had trouble dealing with the fact that something as simple as an arrow could cause so much damage.

"Holy crap!"

"Did you see that?"

"What the hell just happened?"

Some, Johnson and Stacker included, didn't bother to react at all. Instead, they showed their silent awe through their eyes and gave grudgingly impressed nods at the display. It didn't take much for the Chief to not physically react either. Given that his helmet's visor hid his face completely, no one managed to see the light surprise in his eyes and the slight downward tug of his mouth, when compared to his calm and motionless body language. However, his subtle tenseness betrayed a concern for something else in particular.

"Cortana?"

Looking down to his palm, the Spartan saw witness to an amusing sight that only he could see. Cortana's face trembled lightly, with a faint twitch of an eye that signified a small version of a glitch. A second later, she smoothly hid it as quickly as it had briefly appeared. If it was somehow possible, the poor AI looked as if she had a small stroke.

The Chief couldn't really blame her. What she had just observed practically threw many fundamental rules of physics out the window. As well as the fact that it happened in a matter of mere seconds, no less, probably made it all the more mind-boggling for the more science oriented AI.

"Cortana!" He repeated sternly, and his concerned voice snapped Cortana out of her own stupor.

"Sorry, Chief," She apologized with a sheepish look, "I was just caught off guard, that's all."

The Spartan frowned with worry, not buying her dismissal. Nonetheless for her sake, he merely nodded as the AI turned back to the male Elf.

 _"What was that?"_ She managed to question evenly, switching back to the Elven tongue, _"I've never seen anything like that before."_

Hodor responded with a idle tilt of his head, _"That was her spirit magic, fair Guardian. We can use one spell, like the one you saw before, to enchant our_ _arrows to fly at much faster speeds by manipulating the wind around them."_

The Elf picked up a small branch, and the humans watched him _levitate_ the piece of wood from his hand like a light feather floating in the air, _"Granted, i_ _t is nothing more than a common example of the many different ones that can be used among my people."_

With a flick of his wrist, Hodor threw the stick with a short burst of his wind spell. Both parties watched the piece of wood spin into the air, gaining altitude before the branch reached a height that went further _past_ the peak of the tallest trees. Gravity took hold eventually, and the stick landed in a nearby body of water with a small, anti-climatic splash.

Cortana never took her gaze off the stick, _"That's incredible."_

 _"Indeed it is,"_ The Elf glanced at his daughter, not bothering to hide his proud smile, _"it is our symbol of pride as a people, and without it, we wouldn't be where we are today_ _."_

Cortana respected his reasoning. Strange as their 'methods' were, it would make sense that the Elves have a familiar culture of strength underneath the pale skin and pointed ears. It wouldn't be fair to judge them if the poor tree on the ground had some sort of indication. In a bizarre way, the natives were a lot more human than the AI had given them credit for.

Hodor bowed respectfully, his sharp eyes inspecting the Chief for a moment, _"If it is of no consequence, my daughter and I would like to speak to our comrades in private. I promise it will not take long."_

Cortana glanced at the Spartan over her shoulder before nodding back _,_ _"Of course, Hodor. Go ahead."_

 _"Thank you, Lady Cortana."_

Sending a small smile of appreciation to the AI, Hodor and Tuka turn around to converse with the rest of the awaiting Elves. The bewildered Marines, with nothing else to do, mostly did the same. Those who were partially armored took the time to put on their discarded equipment. However there were mutual glances of wariness shot by both parties, despite the slight lift of tension that permitted the air. Cortana ignored it as she began to review her notes on the small demonstrations, humming to herself with pragmatic interest.

Behind her, the Master Chief thought to himself in silent disbelief. Here he was, going over the ridiculous notion of an Elf casually talking about 'spirit magic _'_ as if the man was chatting about the weather.

He shook his head ever so slightly.

When constantly raised in a strictly military environment since he was a child, topics relating to magic or anything of the similar sort tend to be practically foreign to him. Whatever little were brought up about it, however, were quickly dismissed by his drill instructors as cheap parlor tricks, created solely for the enjoyment of the weaker minded. They were deemed redundant, unnecessary to his eventual role into warfare. Dr. Halsey, especially, emphasized this fact with a stern lecture about science over superstition.

The Spartan glanced at the communing Elves.

And yet, the status quo set long ago by facts and research was broken in a mere instant by these mysterious natives. The same supernatural entity that many scientists worked hard to disapprove as 'fantasy' actually existed, with an entire array of different 'spells' that can augment the lethality of the Elves' bows and arrows to an even higher extent.

The Chief's mind went back to the previous demonstrations.

If just one of these spells can make their weapons more potent, the Spartan didn't want to think of the implications regarding the _rest_ of their unknown capabilities, cheap parlor tricks be damned. He didn't want to believe it. He _shouldn't_ believe it, his training telling him to deny it as nothing more than a simple illusion. And yet, he couldn't deny the clearly _real_ proof that was graciously shoved right into his face.

As one of his Spartan comrades had put it eloquently in the past, 'Seeing was believing.' Yes, he did see it with his own eyes — and it was painstakingly evident through the severed remains of the unfortunate tree. Now, it was just a matter of choice if he wanted to believe it or not.

The Spartan looked down to the AI, "Did he say magic, Cortana?"

"Oh yeah, he did," She raised a hand to her chin, "We clearly saw their 'magic' in full effect, or at least what the Elves see it as. It's interesting really, although that's not the only thing. There's something else of interesting note I've noticed."

She brought up a holographic display, "See this?"

With a wave of her hand, she manipulated it until two screens was shown side by side. One showed a chart filled to the brim with analytic data, while the other showed a video of Tuka showing off her wind magic.

"Watch it," She started the video in a slower speed.

The Chief watched the clip closely. Up to the point where the Elven girl raised her bow and whispered the indistinct chant, he began to notice something. Next to the video, the chart that was previously blank suddenly erupted with fluctuating lines. It was not unlike that of a seismograph, he noted. The columns of data underneath the chart began to change as well, at a rapid speed unreadable to the normal human eye. Although thanks to his ocular augmentations, he was able to read them with ease.

To his interest, the Spartan noted how each increasing fluctuation would cause the numbers to rise correspondingly. When the demonstration ended, on the other hand, both the fluctuations and numbers quickly leveled back to its former state.

"When our Elven friend here used her spirit magic, I've detected a sudden increase of the energy signature within her."

Cortnan switched the video, "Check this out too."

The video played, showing Hodor levitating the small branch in the air. Like before the chart showed numerous fluctuations, with a respective increase of numbers to go with it. However, compared to the last one, the changes appear to be less considerable at best.

"Not only that, but they can actually _control_ the amount of that energy flowing in their bodies. Subtle circulation into their spells and whatever capabilities they have with them. These Elves are like mini fusion reactors, to put it in different terms."

The Master Chief widened his eyes, "How is that possible?"

"Through their biology, most likely." Cortana answered with a shrug, "In a way, their magic works in a similar manner to how a MAC gun does."

The AI reflected through the abundance of theories in her head, "Shipboard MACs, like the one on the _Autumn_ , draw their power from the ship's reactor in order to fire. The spells used by the Elves function at the same principle. Both alter their flow of energy depending on the amount they precisely want to use."

She shook her head, "Although, the fact that these people can do on such a small-scale with an unprecedented level of control is astonishing. It's almost unbelievable to fathom."

"Assuming they can do more than just sever a tree in half." The Spartan deadpanned. His voice held no small amount of skepticism.

"Possibly, but unlikely." Cortana explained, "The energy generation must be _immense. A_ nd if I have to guess, it won't be viable for them to circulate more power for their more powerful spells unless they really have to. The sheer amount of energy expended in a short amount of time would most likely tire them out, doing more harm then good. It's also the same concept for our MACs — It would be slow and inefficient."

The Chief didn't hesitate to agree. If there was one thing Spartans, and the UNSC as a whole, emphasized above all else during combat, it would be speed and efficiency. When fighting against something as dangerous as an Elite, one couldn't afford to be one or the other. He felt a slight notch of respect for the Elves, non-humans or not.

"How does this fit with our mission then?" He asked. It was more of a statement than a question, if anything else.

"Well, we did technically _find_ the energy signatures." His AI smirked playfully, "Now it's just a matter of extending our mission's parameters."

Cortana looked up to him, putting a hand to her hip, "Hope you don't mind for a little more diplomacy?"

The Spartan snorted faintly. If the idea of mythical humanoids didn't amaze him more than the peculiar dynamic of the relationship he shared with the AI, then he didn't know what will. He allowed the thought to amuse him for a moment.

"I'm more of an—" The Chief paused for the briefest moment, "—aggressive negotiator." He added dryly.

Cortana gave an amused roll of her eyes, "Of course you are."

Something caught her distant attention, "Hold on for a moment."

She changed the holographic display with a swipe of her hand, and gave a relieved smile as she carefully read the text.

"Ah, there we go! The translation software should be fully complete now."

She pointed to one of the tactical pouches above his hip, "There are a couple of translator headsets in one of your pouch's compartments. Can you take out two for me?"

With a nod, the Spartan used his unoccupied hand to unhook the soft case. He looked through the small but organized compartment with the idle precision of a surgeon. After a moment he removed his hand from the case, producing a pair of standard-issue translator headsets.

"Perfect." Cortana hummed in satisfaction.

A moment later, she shifted her gaze to the Elves. They were done with their little meeting, waiting for her in an unsurprisingly anxious silence. She couldn't help but note the noticeable change in their stances.

 _"A consensus has been reached between me and my colleagues."_ Hodor stepped up from the mass. His tense posture was replaced with a slightly more confident and certain poise.

 _"After a few disagreements and careful considerations, we feel like it would be more wise to discuss the terms of our diplomatic relationship in a more_ — _"_

He paused briefly to view the surrounding clearing, _"—private setting. You are unlike any other groups we've encountered before, and the lack of retaliation from your soldiers proves that we can at least trust your intentions_ _."_

That actually surprised the members of the UNSC.

With the tense stand-off that ensued minutes prior, the humans hadn't expected the excessively prudent Elves to very much take their word for it. Even then, it was also clear that the natives didn't take their beneficence without a small grain of salt. It was strange to think that these people would change their minds so easily on the basis of their foreign nature, much less on the fact that a Marine's trigger finger luckily hadn't started a full-blown shootout.

They didn't know whether to feel perplexed or relieved.

Cortana smiled at his honesty, _"I didn't believe you would think of us that way. Thank you."_

 _"On the contrary, you should be thanking my daughter."_ Hodor shook his head, " _If it were not for her counsel, I would've ordered your group shot on sight, regardless of your intentions."_

Almost immediately the Chief and Fire Team Charlie felt their bodies instinctively tense with caution, with the Marines barely raising their weapons at the ready. Tuka scowled at her father, her face beet red with embarrassment. She smacked him on the head with a hard swing of her fist. Looking sheepish, the blond Elf rubbed the sore spot and gave a calming wave of his hand.

 _"Calm_ _yourselves. I merely jest."_ He allowed himself a small chuckle.

Tuka crossed her arms with an exasperated pout, while Cortana offered an amused laugh of her own. The members of the recon group relaxed their muscles, with obvious expressions of discomfort and slight annoyance. None of them took that threat lightly, and given by what they had just seen minutes ago, it was somewhat justifiable on their part. Sheer discipline narrowly stopped them from acting on their own instincts _—_ and doing something that could be potentially more drastic than necessary.

The Chief felt no more pleased than the Marines, and whatever little respect he had for the male Elf plummeted back into a cold, calculated abyss. He felt his teeth grate against each other in displeasure.

"Cortana." The edge in his voice said it all.

The AI retracted her smile at the Spartan's tone, but she gave her carrier a calming look, "Don't worry, Chief, we're almost done. Can you hang on for me in a little bit?"

There was no vocal response, but a slight nod from the Chief's helmet told her enough.

She mouthed a silent 'Thank you' to the Spartan before switching her attention to Hodor, _"Where are we going to go?"_

 _"To_ _my home_ _— t_ _he_ _Kowan village._ _"_ The Elf pointed behind him, _"It is not far from here. A walking journey should take us there within half an hour, less if we hasten our pace."_

Putting his irritation aside, the Spartan thought about what the Elf had shared. Thirty minutes of walking wasn't too bad, especially now that the recon group have obtained a reliable guide to some degree. Not only that, but it put their timetable around the planned arrival of Foe Hammer, along with the rest of their additional requisitions in tow. Two birds taken out with one figurative stone. Cortana apparently had the same thought, if the hand under her chin showed some indication.

 _"Yes, that will work. But before we go, may I ask you a favor?"_

The Elven father and daughter pair glanced at each other, _"What is your request, fair Guardian?"_ The male Elf gave the AI a questioning look.

Cortana gestured to the devices in the Chief's palm, _"I have gifts for you."  
_

The Spartan took his queue as he tentatively stepped in front of the two Elves. He reached out with his other hand, revealing to them a pair of UNSC translator earpieces. The silver, tooth-shaped devices looked strange to the Elves, causing their heads to tilt in disjointed curiosity.

 _"Take them."_ Cortana's voice shifted their attention to her, " _P_ _l_ _ace them in the inside of your right ear."_

Both Hodor and Tuka frowned at the odd request, but the two acquiesced to her instructions nonetheless. Accepting the devices from the Spartan's palm, the two natives quickly inspected the tiny objects in their hands before placing them in their respective ears. Despite the fact that the headsets were mainly designed for human use, the devices were able to fit into their ears rather comfortably.

Next, Cortana began the process of calibrating the headsets. It took a whole five seconds for the AI to finish completely, but the Chief could see the anticipating smile that betrayed her growing excitement.

"Alright. Can you two still understand me?" The AI asked.

The male Elf arched a puzzled eyebrow, "Yes, I can."

Instead of the incomprehensible sounds of the Elven language, the inflected words of modern day English escaped Hodor's frown. The words didn't naturally sync with the movements of the Elf's mouth, nor did his strange accent quite mix with the artificial tone of the translation. Nevertheless, the members of the recon group were able to hear the words through the updated software in their helmets. They could perfectly understand him as if he was naturally fluent.

"What about you, Tuka?" Cortana switched her gaze to the Elven girl.

The Elven girl had a look of discomfort, the ear containing the device twitching faintly, "It feels rather strange, but I think I can get use to it."

Like her father the translation software filtered her native language in real time, producing a highly accented and synthesized speech of understandable English. If Tuka was aware of the sudden change in her dialect, she didn't bother to show it. Cortana smiled at the Elves, secretly reveling in the fruits of her labor.

"That's good." the AI smirked, "You may not realize it, but we can hear as if you are speaking in our own language. The devices in your ears allow this to happen."

The sheer amount of fascination emanating from the Elves was almost palpable. With an expression of pure wonder, Tuka brought a hand up to her ear,. She began to touch the small earpiece in a gentle, almost reverent manner, "Amazing. What kind of magic is this?"

Cortana shook her head. She was almost glad that the Elves haven't looked at the gift horse in the mouth.

"Not magic." She allowed a smile to grace her lips, "It's _t_ _echnology_."

Hodor and Tuka tilted their heads in confusion, unfamiliar with the term.

"I have no knowledge of such a thing." The male Elf admitted with an honest frown.

"And I don't expect you to." the AI shrugged in a conceding fashion, "Although, I'll be happy to provide more information regarding it, if we have the chance to continue our talks elsewhere."

Hodor seemed relieved at the topic change, "That is fair enough, Lady Cortana. We'll be waiting for you by the edge of the clearing."

Cortana nodded, allowing herself a silent pat on the back for the immense progress being made. Turning to her waiting carrier, the AI gave the Chief a teasing look.

"Ready to get back to work?" She asked.

Had the helmet's golden visor been de-polarized, she would have seen the faint, nearly invisible traces of a smirk on the Spartan's face.

"I thought you'd never ask."

* * *

To say that Jenkins was experiencing one hell of a day would had been a tremendous understatement.

The Marine tapped his fingers on the metal rim of his DMR, the thrums of flesh against metal sounding almost therapeutic to him. Standing guard, he quietly watched the rest of his fellow jarheads begin the process of packing up the camp. They were apparently relocating to the supposed village of the newly discovered Elves, according to the AI attached to their team. Taking back to the proceedings minutes prior, he attentively remembered how it was mostly a back-and-forth session between Cortana, and the blonde Elf the recon team were able to identify as Hodor.

It was an enlightening experience, to say the least.

Jenkins wouldn't lie to himself and not mention the few times where he thought the situation would have gone utterly FUBAR. The sheer tenseness between the two opposing parties had locked his knees with unease, and the one moment where the male Elf had bluntly revealed his intentions beforehand nearly made the PFC raise his rifle and pull the trigger.

He didn't even want to fathom the thought of being on the receiving end of those super-sonic missiles the Elves called 'arrows'. Between fighting Covies and the showdown that happened mere minutes ago, the Marine didn't know which one made him more nervous.

He couldn't really give a damn at this point.

"Alright, let's hurry up, Marines! We don't have all day!"

Jenkins turned his head to see Staff Sergeant Johnson bark out a gruff command, and his surrounding comrades immediately picked up the pace with quiet efficiency. Armor was donned, gear and weapons were checked, and whatever ration wrappings left on the ground were cleaned up at the request of the rather tidy Elves. It wasn't even two minutes until the clearing was void of any signs of settlement, and the members of the recon team began to finish up the final touches of their inspections.

That was Marine Corps discipline for you, Jenkins thought with a small smile.

The PFC considered the thought of joining them when he suddenly heard the faint sound of footsteps from behind him. Turning around, he was greeted with the sight of the Elven girl, Tuka. She looked as if she was trying her hardest to not look at him in the eye. The Marine tensed for a moment, his DMR raised ever so slightly. Jenkins watched as she stopped in front of him, her head lowered at an angle to which her luscious bangs covered the top part of her face.

In her delicate hands was his discarded helmet, nearly forgotten during the prior commotion. Jenkins became surprised when she quickly held it out to him as an offering of some sort.

"Here." Tuka stammered meekly, "I believe this belongs to you."

Given by her slight shaking, the Elf looked more ready to give up a sacrifice instead of returning his belongings. The thought of such a thing amused Jenkins for a moment. Lowering his weapon, he tentatively accepted the helmet with his free hand and gave a nod of appreciation for the kind gesture. It wouldn't hurt to be polite, after all.

"Thank you." He smiled weakly.

The Marine proceeded to put on the helmet, firmly securing it over his head. Feeling the familiar force of the internal cushions pressing against his temple, he waited for a moment until the helmet eventually readjusted around his head to a more comfortable level. Letting a sigh of relief, Jenkins opened his eyes to gaze at Tuka. She was looking at him in a mix of curiosity and nervousness.

An uncomfortable silence passed between the two, pools of teal blue meeting in the awkward middle with warm brown eyes. With nothing else to say, the Marine moved to break the ice until the blonde Elf suddenly beat him to it.

"I want to apologize." She murmured ruefully.

Jenkins blinked, nearly stunned by the sheer amount of guilt in her voice, "Huh? What for?"

"By causing you so much trouble," Tuka looked up before sighing faintly, "I allowed my curiosity to overcome my better judgement, and nearly started a conflict between both our people because of my carelessness. It was never my intention."

She bent her head to the Marine, "For that, I'm truly sorry. Please forgive me."

The PFC merely stared, surprised beyond words It was quite evident that Jenkins wasn't ready to hear such a statement from her. He narrowed his eyes, and opted to study the bowing girl in front of him.

In addition to his excellent skills at sharpshooting, the Marine was also a good judge of character. So he quickly decided to put that to the test. Body language, subtle shifting, rate of breathing, Jenkins checked for anything that might be hiding any underlying sense of deception within her apology.

He found absolutely nothing.

Jenkins couldn't help but sigh with relief. Either she was actually being sincere with her words or she was a really good liar. For both their sakes, he silently hoped the reason wasn't the latter.

"Look...Tuka _,_ was it?" He questioned, causing the Elven girl to perk up, "I know you feel bad about what happened back there, but it wasn't really your fault."

Surprised, the culpable Tuka began to protest, "But—"

She was cut off when Jenkins interrupted her with a raised hand.

"Let me say this: Everyone makes mistakes. You or me, it doesn't matter." The Marine frowned, "All that matters, however, is if you're willing to _learn_ from those mistakes, and not repeat them in the near future."

The Marine gave the Elf a stern look, "You get me?"

For a moment, Tuka widened her eyes and said nothing. She processed the Marine's statement like a dry sponge soaking up excess water.

"I...think I do." The Elven girl closed her mouth and nodded quietly.

Jenkins sighed deeply, "Like I said, what happened a few minutes ago wasn't your fault. There's nothing inherently wrong with being curious. Trust me, I've been there before."

He gave a small smile, "Hell, you even put yourself in the line of fire. And even then, you somehow convinced your father to not send me and my team straight into the afterlife. I think that deserves a few checkmarks in my book."

Tuka's cheeks reddened at the praise, "I-I merely did what I felt was right. You didn't hurt me, so it wouldn't be fair for your people to deserve such a fate."

Without a fight? Highly doubtful, Jenkins thought bitterly.

If a conflict _had_ broken out, it would have been an undeniably messy situation for both sides. It would be _especially_ true for the Elves if the Spartan had intervened. However, as the Marine looked at the timid visage of the Elven girl in front of him, he was silently glad it hadn't come to that.

Plus, it would have made for an embarrassing tombstone description if he died from a freaking _arrow_ of all things.

"I agree. I'm glad our people were able to compromise." Jenkins grinned in an attempt to lighten the mood, "Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to have this conversation in the first place."

Tuka let out a genuine smile before her pointy ears began to droop down. "I do, too. Although, I wish we were able to meet in better circumstances."

Jenkins frowned. It was true that their first meeting hadn't exactly started off in the best of terms, but he knew there was no point lamenting on what cannot be changed. No use crying over spilled milk, after all.

"Then we'll ignore what happened before. Let's start all over." The Marine held out his unoccupied hand.

The Elven girl tilted her head slightly as she stared at his gloved palm in blatant confusion. It was clear that she was unsure of what to do. Jenkins nearly smacked himself on the head. Right, different planet would mean a different culture. Grimacing lightly, he prayed to whatever deity that no one in the recon team had witnessed his little misstep.

"You're supposed to take my hand and shake it." Jenkins explained.

Tuka parted her mouth into an 'O' shape before she took his hand tentatively. Once she grasped his hand, the PFC became surprised at how firm her grip was. It held a subtle sense of strength, in contrary to her rather delicate appearance. Maybe there was a chance that he underestimated the Elf's character. Regardless, the Marine couldn't help but feel a sense of respect for Tuka as the two shook their grasped hands into a proper handshake.

"Wallace Jenkins, Private First Class, member of the UNSC Marine Corps. And you?" He introduced himself.

The Elven girl smiled and started to play along, "Tuka Luna Marceau, daughter of Hodor Marceau and resident of the Kowan Village."

"It's nice to meet you, Tuka. I hope we can get along." Jenkins grinned lightly.

Tuka brought a hand up to her mouth and giggled, "It's nice to meet you too, Jenkins. I hope we can get along as well."

"Friends?" The Marine raised an expectant eyebrow.

The Elf nodded with resolute, "Friends."

Once the two finished their introductions, they slowly released their grasped hands. They began to smile at each other. Watching the Elven girl beam in front of him made Jenkins rub the back of his helmet, and the Marine felt a growing happiness he had not felt since joining the Corps. Whether it was from Tuka's contagious smile or from their newfound friendship, the PFC didn't really know. And he honestly could care less at the moment. He made a friend, a non-human one at that, and even avoided getting killed in the process.

If _that_ wasn't considered a huge achievement, then he didn't know what will.

Before the two could let out another word, a gruff voice suddenly interrupted their short-lived conversation.

"Jenkins!"

Slightly startled, both Jenkins and Tuka quickly turned their heads to see the culprit, Staff Sergeant Johnson, saunter towards them.

"Get your ass moving! We're heading out!" Johnson gave a brief glance at Tuka, "And bring your new friend with you, too."

Jenkins saluted sharply, "Yes, sir!"

"We're leaving in one. Be ready to Oscar mike." Johnson nodded briskly.

Once the Staff Sergeant walked away, the PFC closed his eyes and sighed in relief. He couldn't help but feel relieved that his superior hadn't chewed him out for his little session with the Elven girl. When the Marine opened his eyes, he turned to glance at Tuka. She was gazing at him in a combination of both her characteristic curiosity and a tiny tinge of amusement.

It was quite endearing, in a strange sort of way.

"So..." He held his DMR across his chest. It wouldn't hurt to show off a bit, "are you ready to go?"

The only response he received was the faint twinkle of teal blue eyes, and a glowing smile that was bright enough to light the entire sky.

"Lead the way."

* * *

 **That's Chapter 5! Hoped you enjoyed it! :)**


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